A circle of friends connected by goo touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On September 13, Takahiro Okazawa, designer of “INQUIRING” and “RAZOR,” appeared on the show, focusing on his talk about “STRAYM,” an art and NFT sharing marketplace he launched in 2020.
INDEX
Creating a place for people to easily get involved in art
Celeina (MC): Joining us today is designer Takahiro Okazawa, who was recommended by photographer RK, thank you.
Takano （MC）: RK said that you are “the coolest senior in Tokyo for me”.
Okazawa: I am honored.
Celeina: Mr.Okazawa debuted as a model in the 1990s and has also been a designer since 2001. He is currently working as a designer for INQUIRING and RAZOR. I am curious about the art and NFT sharing marketplace “STRAYM” that you launched in 2020. Can you briefly tell us what it is about?
Okazawa: This was launched after talking with three friends of mine for about a year starting in 2019, and we wanted to expand the appeal and culture of art. The word “STRAYM” is also spelled upside down as “MYARTS”.
Celeina：Wow!
Okazawa: We will be co-owning and selling through the digital world, and since it is a service that accesses the other side of the digital world, I thought I would start with a gimmicky name like that.
Takano: What genres of art do you actually handle?
Okazawa: Some famous artists are Banksy and KAWS, and the photographer Wolfgang Tillmans. We also have artists from Japan. Basically, I exhibit works for secondary sale, and in some cases I also exhibit works for primary sale, or works that I have commissioned an artist to make.
Celeina: I took a look at your website, and there are items priced as low as 169 yen, does this mean that you can become a co-owner?
Okazawa：Yes. We started with the concept of joint ownership, or joint ownership. We made the initial entrance as low as possible, and made it possible to buy rights for as little as 100 yen. The 169 yen you mentioned earlier is an indication that we started at 100 yen and the unit price has increased through various transactions.
Celeina：So you are saying that the unit price went up by 69 yen. A bit like a stock.
Okazawa: We want people who cannot afford expensive art to get a little more involved in art. I think that by paying for art, they themselves will become a little closer to the art, and in the awareness that they own the art, they will talk to others about the artist and his/her work in their own way. So I started the service with the intention of getting people to get involved and enjoy the service on as low a scale as possible.
Takano: It’s great because you can casually talk about “I own it” with people. By the way, it’s amazing that the price starts at 100 yen.
Celeina: Mr.Okazawa, how do you see the potential of NFT and Web3?
Okazawa: I am not that familiar with this service. However, I recognize NFT as an advanced technology that can be used as digital proof. In my opinion, it is a record of high technology that remains properly, or perhaps it is a useful technology.
Takano: That’s right. I would like everyone to visit the “STRAYM” website and take a look.
