Kicking off in November! The Community Engagement Program “Traveling Inside: Touring the ‘Unknown’ That’s Here”
2021.11.15 [Mon]
The “Community Engagement Program: Neighborhood Seen through Art” was initiated by the Mori Building Co., Ltd. and Mori Art Museum in 2018. The first edition of the program, held under the theme of “THE FURNITURE,” focused on what they call “Shiba furniture” in the urban area of Nishi-Shimbashi and featured workshops and talks by artists as well as exhibitions of works within the city. This time, the second edition of the program for the first time in three years is to take place under the theme of “Traveling Inside,” with cooperation in planning by Kawakatsu Shinichi, the architectural researcher who has continued his research in the same region. The stages for this edition will move to the areas of Atago, Shimbashi, and Toranomon, with two groups of artists and programs this time. It will be a program that participants can enjoy online as well, including a unique, city walk tour configured with the artists, which can be appreciated on an individual basis despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Community Engagement Program
“Neighborhood Seen through Art (Atago, Toranomon and Shimbashi Edition)”
“Traveling Inside: Touring the ‘Unknown’ That’s Here”
Even in situations where it is difficult to ‘physically’ travel freely, we still expect to meet something out of the ordinary, an exciting and unknown world or an unknown part of ourselves that we’d never imagined. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in which we can enjoy virtual worlds, as well as video-based websites that give us a glimpse into what other parts of the world are like have become familiar forms of media that sweep us off to different worlds without us having to go anywhere indeed. In this “Traveling Inside: Touring the ‘Unknown’ That’s Here” project, we use three different approaches (A: Networks and Patchworks; B: A Tactile Boardgame Pilgrimage; and C: The Picture-Postcard Travel Guidebook) to offer a trip into the deeper parts inside the areas of Atago, Shimbashi and Toranomon. The familiar scenery that we usually pass by without thinking much about - such as walkways, the paths we travel along when commuting and so on are transformed into “unknown spaces.” Why not come along on this journey of self-discovery of the ‘unknown’?
- Featured Artists
- The “Shintai zero base unyohou”, Wataridori Keikaku
- Period
- Tuesday, November 23, 2021 - Sunday, January 23, 2022
- Exhibition
- The artist’s efforts related to this project are to be introduced with videos and more.
- Exhibition Venue
- K2 Toranomon Building 2-17-2 Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
* You will be able to view the exhibit from outside the building as it is showcased in the window on the 1st floor. - Content
- A | Networks and Patchworks
Coordinator: Kawakatsu Shinichi - B | A Tactile Boardgame Pilgrimage
Coordinator: The "Shintai zero base unyohou" - C | The Picture-Postcard Travel Guidebook
Coordinator: Wataridori Keikaku - Website
- https://commons.mori.art.museum/traveling-inside.html * In Japanese-language only
* Details will be announced on the website on the later date.
- Organizers
- Mori Art Museum, Mori Building Co., Ltd.
- Planning Cooperation
- Kawakatsu Shinichi (Architectural Researcher, RAD)
The “Shintai zero base unyohou”
“Shintai zero base unyohou” is a theory of anatomical functionality based on dye artist Ando Ryuichiro’s “perspective of creating or manufacturing things (monozukuri).” With this theory, Ando strives to uncover the sensations, motions and functions that arise from the connection between the body and physical objects starting from a “zero” baseline, to find how our bodies should originally work. The “body” that Ando refers to is not something within the expert realm of medicinal knowledge or sports, but rather the “body” that comprises ourselves, meaning what we possess. Shintai zero base unyohou uses the diverse range of tools found in art to translate and communicate these things, inquiring as to the possibilities of this “body” fading away as we approach our future. Ando Ryuichiro began his activities in 2016, and served as lecturer for Goda Planning Office’s 2016 workshop series, “Freshly Mixed vol.2.” Ando held an experience-based exhibition called “0GYM” at Kyoto City University of Arts Gallery @KCUA, where he “transformed” the entire gallery into a gym for the exhibition. Since then, Ando has held numerous workshops and lectures.
Ando Ryuichiro
Dye artist. Born 1984 in Kyoto. Completed the master’s course at the Department of Dyeing and Weaving, Department of Crafts, Kyoto City University of Arts. Currently a lecturer at Department of Dyeing and Weaving, Department of Crafts, Kyoto City University of Arts.
Website: https://www.shintai-0-base.com/
Instagram: shintai.0.base
Wataridori Keikaku (Aso Tomoko and Takeuchi Akiko)
Wataridori Keikaku is the name of a project in which painters Aso Tomoko and Takeuchi Akiko travel around the country in search of subjects and exhibition spaces, and eventually create and present works inspired by, and in accordance with, the respective locations and exhibition venues. From their first exhibition in 2009, up to 2021, Wataridori Keikaku realized exhibitions and workshops at about thirty locations across Japan. In addition to their participation in group exhibitions and solo shows, both artists are actively engaging also in their own individual creative work, making picture books (Aso) and original textile drawings (Takeuchi).
Kawakatsu Shinichi (Architectural Researcher, RAD)
Born 1983 in Hyogo prefecture. Kawakatsu graduated from the Kyoto Institute of Technology. Through curation and publication regarding architectural exhibitions, the planning and management of public participation-driven renovation workshops, holding lecture events, proposals for metropolitan use to the government and more, Kawakatsu is researching how architecture and society should interrelate, as well as the roles that architects should play. Currently a part-time lecturer at Osaka City University, Kyoto Seika University, and Setsunan University. His major projects include Community Engagement Program “Neighborhood Seen through Art” Ver. 1: “THE FURNITURE” (Mori Building Co., Ltd. and Mori Museum of Art, 2018-2019) and PARIS TOKYO - KENCHIKU ARCHITECTURE (Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, Paris, 2013).
