Building "Fukuoka, City of Art" through a public-private partnership

Fukuoka City is using art to make the city a better place to live. It brings art into everyday life to improve residents’ well-being, and it supports emerging artists by giving them venues to show their work. Exhibitions now extend beyond museums into commercial buildings and other spaces across the city, with the public and private sectors working together to establish Fukuoka’s brand as a “City of Art.”

Against this backdrop, the urban art event FaN Week 2025 set out to do two things. It worked to show the wider world that Fukuoka City is actively running an art project, and it set out to build awareness and spark participation among the general public, reaching far beyond those who already had an interest in art.

Over 16 days, from Saturday, Sept. 13 to Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, the art project FaN Week 2025 filled the Hakata and Tenjin districts of Fukuoka City, putting art within easy reach and giving artists new spaces to show their work.

Now in its fourth year, FaN Week 2025 was launched as part of Fukuoka City’s “Fukuoka Art Next” initiative and ran under the concept “Strata of Exchange, Garden of Creation.” The strata are the layers of history laid down over centuries of trade with Asia. The gardens are the venues themselves, each one a place where art takes root and grows into something of its own.

ONE FUKUOKA BLDG., captured how art resonates with venues across the city and draws out fresh creativity. Throughout the run, a rich range of expression and a real sense of energy made for a vibrant art experience that won over citizens and visitors alike. Total attendance reached 41,516, a remarkable turnout!

Loftwork led planning and production direction together with Zero-Ten Inc. Both teams have planned and run art festivals across Japan, and the team looked beyond a single event, working to lift the appeal of the whole district by drawing people out to explore the city as a whole. With project management at its core, the team brought together a wide range of touchpoints, including the website, digital map, posters, PR video and other visual content. From publicity through to the official record book produced afterward, the team directed the whole arc, building a foundation that carries the project through both what people see and what they read. This run of design work did more than draw visitors out and put the city’s buzz on display. It became a lasting communication platform, one that lets the local government and partner companies keep widening the circle of support for “Fukuoka, City of Art.”

The team made a red flag the symbol of FaN Week, carrying the design across posters, leaflets, on-site signage, VIP invitations and more to give the whole event a polished, unified look. To raise awareness and draw citizens out to explore, the team designed consistent communication across both digital and offline channels. By pairing easy access to information online with a unified look and clear wayfinding on the ground, the team worked to make it easier for citizens and visitors to come across the art spread throughout the city.

The promotional video screened around the city and also went out as social posts and video ads, running across both digital and offline channels.

On the homepage that serves as the face of the site, the iconic red flag builds anticipation. The team sorted complex, wide-ranging event information with categories and filters, shaping a design that lets users reach what they want on instinct. Along with a responsive design that works across devices, the team built an easy-to-run system that keeps up flexibly and quickly with the frequent updates of the event period, delivering both ease of use and reach.

To erase the line between online and offline and turn the whole city into a single venue, the team created a digital map. The shared signage placed at each venue shows up as the same symbols on the map, guiding visitors smoothly from the main venues to nearby galleries and partner events.

To pick up the pace of its art-driven city building, Fukuoka City is strengthening ties with artists and galleries working at home and abroad, along with the curators who shape strategy and the FaN partner companies.

For FaN Week 2025, the team rolled out invitations that opened the door to venues scattered across the city, encouraging visitors to make the rounds. Once the event closed, the team produced an official record book (OFFICIAL BOOK) that gathers exhibition scenes and artwork commentary into a single volume. More than a record, it works as a tool to widen support for the project Fukuoka City is driving and to spark the next round of co-creation.

Record book and invitation. Photo by Chihiro Otsuki

Writing and editing: Akiko Yokoyama (loftwork.com editorial team)