CASO to host art fair featuring 17 galleries: A fair of contemporary art will take place between Wednesday and Oct. 26 at Contemporary Art Space Osaka, or CASO, in the city's Minato Ward.

A total of 17 galleries from Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya and Tokyo will exhibit and sell works by such famous artists as Yayoi Kusama, Nobuyoshi Araki, Yasumasa Morimura and Kenji Yanobe.

The fair will run between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., but will open at 1 p.m. on the first day and close at 5 p.m. on the final day. Admission is E,000.

The venue is a five-minute walk from Osaka-ko station on the Chuo subway line.

For more details, call the organizer at (06) 6577-0998, fax (06) 6577-0995 or e-mail: [email protected]

Photos of war victims to be displayed in Osaka: The Japanese unit of Medecins Sans Frontieres, an independent humanitarian medical aid agency, will display photographs of victims of violence between Thursday and Oct. 30 at Fuji Photo Salon in Kita Ward, Osaka.

The "Scars of Violence" exhibition will display about 30 photos of people from seven countries and areas that have experienced long-term conflicts or wars, including Afghanistan, the Republic of Angola and the Palestinian Territory. Some 70 photos featuring a girl in El Salvador, taken by photojournalist Hiromi Nagakura, will also be on display.

Entrance is free. The exhibition will run from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., but will close at 3 p.m. on the final day.

The venue is on the third floor of Osaka Marubiru building, a five-minute walk from JR Osaka Station or from Umeda station on the Hankyu or Midosuji subway lines.

For more information, call the organizer at (03) 5988-0563 or fax (03) 5988-0561.

Flanders Center offering Baroque concert tickets: Flanders Center, a liaison office of the government of Flanders, Belgium, is offering five readers of The Japan Times a chance to win a ticket to a Baroque music concert to be held from 5 p.m. on Nov. 3 at the center in Tennoji Ward, Osaka.

Organ and cembalo player Martin Gester and tenor singer Koki Kitano will perform the concert. The program will include "Salve Regina," by Lebegue, and "O dulcis amor," by Campra.

Readers interested in entering the draw should send a postcard stating their name, age, address, profession, phone number and the name of the medium (The Japan Times) to Baroque Kakari in Flanders Center at 8-2-6, Uehonmachi, Tennoji-ku, Osaka-shi, 543-0001. The postcard must be sent by Oct. 24.

For more information, call the center at (06) 6773-8850.

NGO to provide advice on domestic violence: Network for Foreigners' Assistance Kobe, a nongovernmental organization, will host a seminar on support for non-Japanese victims of domestic violence between 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 25 at Kobe-shi Kinro Kaikan building in the city's Chuo Ward.

Foreign women living in Japan can be victims of violence for many reasons, including language, cultural differences, discrimination and lack of professional support. The seminar will provide information on legal support for victims. The seminar will be conducted in Japanese.

The participation fee is E00 and there are places for 30 people.

For applications and more information, call the organizer at (078) 341-5710.

Quiz to test contestants' knowledge of Osaka: A quiz for 200 foreigners and the same number of Japanese will be held between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 9 at Kensaki Hiroba square in Nakanoshima Park in Osaka's Kita Ward.

After joining in games to promote friendship, participants will be divided into 50 multinational groups and start the quiz.

Along the 2-km course to and from Sakuranomiya Park, participants will stop at 12 checkpoints and answer questions about Osaka. The highest-scoring groups will win prizes.

Anyone wishing to participate must send an application form stating their name, address, phone number, gender, age, nationality, occupation or school name and shirt size. Applications can also be sent via fax at (06) 6773-8421 or e-mail: [email protected]

Applications must arrive by Oct. 31. Participation is free and a sweat shirt will be given to everyone taking part. Participants should bring their own lunches.

For more information, call the organizer at (06) 6773-8182.