FAQ Artist booth 2025 – Japan Weekend – La mayor feria de España de manga, anime y cultura japonesa.

Non-commercial booth contracting at Japan Weekend

Japan Weekend

⚠️ ATTENTION! ⚠️ The Art website will open for new registrations in spring 2026.

All information will be communicated on our X profile @JW_Arte.

In order to set up an Artist House/Non-Commercial stand at Japan Weekend, you must be registered on the Art website (https://arte.japanweekend.com/) and have obtained an artist identification code.

Registration on the website opens once a year, but if you are not from Spain and want to register past the deadline, please contact us at arte@japanweekend.com

NEW PROCEDURE FOR BOOTH CONTRACTING

FAQ

GUIDE FOR THE ARTIST BOOTHS

We changed the way you can book the booth. On Monday the 11th we will update the sample forms.

WHAT IS THE ARTIST ZONE?

At Japan Weekend we want to support artists and young creators and decided a few years ago to include a subsidized area dedicated to art and crafts. Throughout our various events you will find a large space dedicated only to offer space for them to sell their own material at a much reduced floor space cost so that artists can have opportunities to profit from their own creations.

The extra cost of the floor and borrowed material is assumed by Japan Weekend in exchange for the guarantee that the artist has created that material.

Currently there are two types of artist booths: Artist House and Non Commercial. You can consult the specific information (size, material, approximate price, selection process…) of each of them in points 7.1 and 7.2 of our stand rules.

🌸What can be sold in an artist’s booth?

Any creation made by the representative (and artist) of the booth. It is considered to be 100% designed or created by the artist himself/herself. The creation is considered to be the part on which the attractiveness or purpose of the piece is based.

Example: You can sell key chains with your own designs, even if the key chain was created by another company or factory. The same goes for prints. What matters is that the motif itself, the main attraction of the product, is made by the artist representing the booth.

🌸What is not considered a self-created?

If you are selling a bracelet, the beads, decorations and other objects must be created by yourself. There is no point in buying beads or charms and putting them together to create a final product. We do not consider that there is enough of a creation process to justify the subsidy.

Another example is a 3D print. Anyone who simply prints someone else’s designs, even if they later modify them in some way or supplement them, does not count as a possible candidate for the artist zone.

If you only do one step of the object. For example, if you varnish boxes, no matter how well you do it and how much art and complication it involves, we do not consider it a complete creation of the object. We only allow the creation of objects whose design is entirely made by the representative.

🌸Does this mean that if I do not fully design the object I cannot sell it at Japan Weekend?

Yes, you can sell it, but you will not be able to access the artists’ subsidized area. But you can sell it in the commercial area.

🌸If I have something I have bought or licensed, can I sell it?

No, because you did not design it. You could sell it by acquiring a commercial stand.

🌸Is tracing considered a self-creation?

No, and if we detect any tracing we will cancel the stand. Likewise, no logos or brand images of registered products that could be confused with official material may be used, neither on the product nor on the packaging. You have all the information about this as well as specific examples in point 2 of our stand regulations.

🌸Why can only material from the booth representative be sold?

The number of booths available is limited, and priority must be given to artists attending the event. Currently, two artists are allowed per booth and nothing can be sold from an artist who is not attending the event. This means that if one of the artists can only attend one day, his or her material cannot be sold and the booth will be considered a single artist booth. You can only apply for a booth if you are going to be at the event every day of the event.

Likewise, the organization understands that an artist may be absent for several periods of time to rest, and as long as the artist has attended the event and has been at his stand for most of the day, there will be no problem for his position to be covered by his accredited companion or by the second artist in those specific moments.

🌸Can I organize with other artists to hire a commercial booth if I do not comply with the rules of the artists’ area?

Yes, you can.

🌸What is the price difference between a commercial booth and an artist booth?

In all our events, the non-commercial booth consists of a space of 3 meters x 2 meters so the space is 6m square. In the case of Madrid which is our event with the highest cost for all the stands, the square meter of this space in 2022 was charged at 16.7 per m2 without counting the cost of the material and structure provided by Japan Weekend.

Compared to a commercial stand that costs €2000 per 6x2m, the cost per m2 is €166. Yes, the commercial stand in our event costs ten times the price of a non-commercial stand without taking into account that commercial stands are not provided with material such as tables and chairs. In the case of Artist House, the difference increases much more because we add more material to rent as more tables, larger structures with inscribed canopy, light sockets…

In other words, even at events where we rent the highest price for artist area booths, we cover about 90% of the cost of the booth floor.

It is incredible how much something as simple as a table can cost. We only give you details of the payment for the floor but we also cover the costs influenced by things like space usage fee, electricity consumption, cleaning of corridors and many other things. Currently the artists’ area occupies almost an entire pavilion in some events or more than a quarter of the space we have in other events. The price per square meter is very expensive and continues to increase over the years even though we do not vary our prices much.

By making the artists’ area of this size, we assume a high cost so we emphasize that the area maintains a certain quality and good image for the public.

🌸Why are stand prices going up, and what influences the price change?

As we mentioned in the previous point, about 90% of the cost of the stand space alone (taking Madrid as an example) is covered by Japan Weekend. This calculation is made without taking into account the space comprised by aisles, lighting or rental of services or material used in the area.

When the price of these services or the floor of the venues becomes more expensive, we try as much as possible not to affect our artists. However, if there is a high increase in the cost or a general increase in all services, we have to slightly increase the price of the stand.

An example of the latter would be the increase in all our 2023 events following the increase of all services by the venues. An exception was made for the February edition as we announced the booth prices before the general increase was communicated to us, but for the September edition we have had to apply changes.

Again using Madrid as an example, so that the increase does not affect the smaller artists, we have eliminated the structures in the non-commercial zone while maintaining the price, and we have slightly increased the price of the Artist House zone.

HOW TO APPLY FOR A BOOTH IN THE JAPAN WEEKEND ARTIST ZONES?

The first thing, as always, is to take a look at our stand regulations:
✨ARTIST BOOTH REGULATION (03/11/25) ✨

The rules are extensive and cover in detail some of the things that we will indicate here in a more concise way. Remember that the reading of the rules is mandatory for everyone who registers in our artists’ area and that they must be understood and respected. You will be able to find this regulation in this space of our web page as well as in all the registration forms that you make; as well as in many of the mails that we exchange with you throughout the months.

The second most important thing is to be clear about the opening date of the form because the registrations for each event are only open during the period of 6 DAYS ‼️‼️‼️ After those six days, it will be impossible to sign up for that event and you will have to wait for the next edition to be able to sign up. At the bottom of this page you can check the status of stand registrations.

Don’t know the opening date of the event you are interested in? You can always find the dates on our Twitter profile, inserted as a featured message or at the bottom of this page where we will update them as they are announced. Remember that the dates are always given first on Twitter so we strongly recommend you to follow us on the social network. Twitter is also where this form will be published for the first time, being important for all non-commercial stands to register at the same time (you can find more information about this in points 7.1 and 10 of our stand regulations).

The Twitter account from which we announce the dates and publish the forms is as follows ➙ https://twitter.com/JW_Arte

HOW DOES THE REGISTRATION FORM WORK?

On the first day of registration, two forms will be published: one registration form for Artist House and another for non-commercial participants, requiring minimal information. It will be essential to have your artist identification code to complete the registration. Without this code, you will not be able to continue with the registration process.

ATTENTION!! The link to the form will only be published on Twitter.

The Additional Information Form is not published on the website: it is only sent by email to selected individuals who have paid for their stand.

The registration form will be announced via our art account on Twitter/X (@JW_Arte) and this page will be updated with the link.

↓↓↓ We know that forms generate questions, so we answer the most frequently asked questions ↓↓↓

🌸 What is the Registration Form for?

It is used to request your stand (Artist House or Non-Commercial) and determines the validity of your application and the order of registration. Upon submission, you will automatically receive an email with a copy of your responses (proof of registration).

Incomplete applications, with errors or with data that do not match your profile on the art website will be automatically cancelled (rule 11.1).

Hurry up filling in this form because the order of registration will give you an option for space and will determine your place at the event. The type of stand you select will be binding.

🌸 What is the Additional Information Form for?

This form is only received by those who have been selected and have paid for their stand. It collects stand and administrative data: invoicing, deposit refund, accreditations and other necessary information for the event (rule 11.2).

The form remains open and modifiable as long as the organisation has not used this data (e.g., for accreditations, listings or invoicing). We will notify you by email when we are going to close the possibility of modifying it, indicating the date and time limit (rule 11.4).

There is no longer a separate changes form. Any modification must be made in the Additional Information Form while it is enabled (rule 11.4).

🌸 “There used to be two public forms, what has changed?”

Before: two forms were published to be filled in by all registered individuals.

Now: the process is simplified: you only need to fill in the Registration Form. The Additional Information Form is only sent to selected individuals who have paid (rules 11.1 and 11.2).

🌸 What happens if I have entered incorrect data?

Registration Form: if the data is wrong or incomplete, the application will be cancelled (rule 11.1).
Additional Information Form: you will be able to correct it while it remains enabled. When it is about to close, we will notify you by email. After closing, there will be no changes, except in cases of force majeure with medical or judicial documentation (rule 11.4).

🌸 What information do we request in the forms?

The requested information and its use are detailed in the regulations (see 11.1 and 11.2). We recommend consulting it before registering.

Additionally, at the bottom of this page, you will find links to a test form for Japan Weekend Madrid, which will give you a basic idea of the questions you can find in the actual registration form.

🌸I am a trans person and my name does not yet appear on my ID, should I put my deadname?

No! In this box, use your chosen name. We will only need your deadname if you are the artist responsible for the stand and when we request data for invoicing.

🌸 Is it mandatory to fill in the details of the second person?

It depends! If the second person is an Accompanist/Helper, their details are provided in the Additional Information Form (once your place is confirmed and paid for).

If the second person is an artist, YES, it is mandatory to fill in the registration form with their details.

Remember that it is NOT possible to add a second artist to the stand once the place has been confirmed, so if you have not provided the details of the second artist, they will not be able to exhibit or sell at the stand.

🌸 I want the invoice to be issued in the name of a family member, a group or similar, how should I proceed?

The invoice must be in the name of one of the stand artists or a brand they work for. We will only make exceptions for family members in cases of trans individuals, if this is due to discomfort related to the use of their deadname.

You must fill in the “invoicing details – deposit refund details” section with the family member’s name, if applicable, and their ID number.

🌸As a trans person, without an updated ID and responsible for a stand, where do I provide my deadname for invoicing?

You must fill in the “invoicing details – deposit refund details” section, in the “Full name of the responsible person as it appears on the ID. Only to be used for invoicing” box.

🌸Why are there still two forms?

To streamline and secure the process:

Registration is done quickly (without asking for all the information yet).
Final data is only requested from those who will have a stand (rules 11.1 and 11.2). This avoids errors and unnecessary overload.

🌸 How and when will I know the result of my application?

After reviewing registrations, every registered person will receive an email indicating their status (AH/Non-Commercial confirmed, AH/Non-Commercial waiting list, no place assigned or cancelled due to incorrect information). Additionally, we will notify on Twitter/X on the day the emails are sent (rule 11.3).

⮕ If you do not get a place in Artist House and meet the Non-Commercial requirements, your application will automatically migrate to Non-Commercial with separate tables if you are two artists (rule 7.2 – Automatic Migration).

All results are indicated by email and we usually notify via our Twitter on the same day they are announced.

🌸 Other important notes

In case of duplicate registrations (including those where artists are swapped between Artist 1 and Artist 2), the last registration will be taken into account (rule 11.1).
The location for Non-Commercial depends on the registration time; AH is granted by portfolio and the location is based on registration time (rule 11.1).
The place is confirmed only after receiving the confirmation email and making the payment via the link sent (rule 11.3).

WHAT IS THE “SALES PORTFOLIO”?

We call “sales portfolio” the space we ask you to dedicate to place the material you are going to sell in our event. Since we have very strict regulations, especially regarding copyright, the sales portfolio is requested in order to detect early on products that could not be sold at the event. The sales portfolio also helps us to better visualize your requests, especially for portfolio reviews such as Artist House, as social media does not usually help to visualize the merchandising/material for sale.

The sales portfolio will be a DRIVE folder in which we ask you to include the following elements:

70-75% of the material to be brought to the event.
Photos from previous booths (either JW or other event).
At least one valid mandatory process.

🌸Does it have to be strictly a DRIVE folder?

Yes.

Because reviewing different systems hinders the review work and even for smaller events we have to review over a hundred portfolios, our team needs all portfolios to be on the same platform so that they can work more comfortably. As of May 2023 we will not accept any sales portfolio that is not hosted on DRIVE.

🌸I intend to make some products but they are not finished, how do I let you know?

If you have several products in development that are already started and you know you are going to bring to the event you have registered, you can add the DRIVE sketches and a word/pdf indicating what you have in mind for the finished works or that you have commissioned to third parties.

If you have drastically changed your material between the time you confirm your booth and the event, please update your portfolio and let us know by email.

🌸Is it mandatory to show hands in the process/timelapse (Illustrators)?

No. We will only ask you for this if there is suspicion of plagiarism, by sending a separate mail to request this.

The only thing we ask is that you see from the blank canvas to the end of the lineart. No cuts, no jumps in time and no inclusion of sketches or elements drawn outside the same process. Although we don’t suspect of tracing, we ask all of you to follow this process so that you all receive the same treatment from the day of registration. In addition, we want to make sure that the public can feel confident that they are buying original products with artist’s value by being their own and unique.

We will not accept portfolios that do not include the mandatory process.

You can find more detailed information about the process, references and other related topics in point 10.3 of our stand rules.