Arakawa & Co., Ltd. launches grippin’, an international design competition inviting entries on the theme “New GRIPS”. Participants are asked to explore unexpected and innovative applications for Arakawa Grip, the company’s wire-gripping mechanism.
The competition is open to individual designers, architects and interior designers, as well as multidisciplinary practices, residing outside Japan. There is no limit to the number of entries. The entry fee is JPY 5,000 per entry, and every participant will receive an Arakawa Grip sample kit.
Entries are open from 1 October 2026 to 30 April 2027. Judging is scheduled for May 2027, when three finalists will be selected. The jury includes Kaori Akiyama, Yasuhiro Kaneda, Hokuto Ando, Suzy Annetta and Hajime Arakawa. The Gold Grip Award winner will receive JPY 500,000; one Silver Grip Award and one Bronze Grip Award will also be presented. Each winner will receive a trophy, and the winning works will be exhibited at TIERS GALLERY in autumn 2027.