Takuya Ikezaki and Miyuki Akiyama are participating in Bustu Butsu #8 by Eri at People’s Pavilion.

Takuya Ikezaki and Miyuki Akiyama are participating in Bustu Butsu #8 by Eri at People’s Pavilion.

Butsu Butsu #8 by Eri Shoji

Saturday, September 6th
At Columbus Park, Chinatown, Manhattan

Butsu Butsu is a participatory barter-based tea happening series that explores gift culture through artistic exchange. Instead of monetary payment, guests are invited to offer a form of barter—goods, skills, or favors—in return for tea, community interaction and experience.

Now in its 8th edition, Butsu Butsu brings together artists from diverse creative disciplines for a shared, improvisational experience. Collaborating artists for this edition include choreographer/performers Suiso co.: Maho Ogawa with Benjamin Goosman and Emily Young; ceramicist Jennie Jieun Lee; designers Kristin Dickson-Okuda and Shin Okuda; artists Takuya Ikezaki and Miyuki Akiyama; and musicians Barry Weisblat,

Che Chen, Talice Lee, Masami Tomihisa and Lary7.

Two sessions will be held at 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM, each featuring distinct teas and snacks, accompanied by live music and choreographed movement. Guests may reserve a seated spot (limited to 10 participants per session; sign-up opens 30 minutes prior) or attend as standing audience members without registration.

A craft table will also be available for those who wish to create items to exchange on-site. The theme of this edition is the Five Elements—wood, water, fire, metal, and earth—rooted in Daoist philosophy, where all beings exist in dynamic balance. Ceramicist Jennie Jieun Lee contributes a series of original teawares which reflect these elements in conversation. The visual environment, designed and created by Shoji from discarded materials sourced in the Garment District, features a patchworked black textile tea space inspired by Chinese cosmological diagrams and the traditional tearoom’s Tatami mat layout.

Amid the instability of our present moment, Butsu Butsu #8 offers a contemplative space where exchange becomes ritual, and presence becomes an act of care and sharing.