NichiBei Creative Artists

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JP

Artistic restaurant exploring sustainability

Artistic restaurant exploring sustainability

Artistic restaurant exploring sustainability

Artistic restaurant exploring sustainability

Artistic restaurant exploring sustainability

空手× デジタルテクノロジー「KATA」

2021.02.03

Facebook更新 (Coleman)

日米ダンス合作：
ストリートとコンテンポラリー

2021.05.01

アーカイブ動画公開 (Cameron)

旅はすみか - The Journey Itself Home

2021.05.24

イベント情報 (marksearch)

サステナビリティを探究するアートレストラン

2020.10.09

Facebook更新 (Schlesinger)

日米キッズ・パブリック・アートプロジェクト

2021.05.25

イベント情報 (Volta)

Introduction

日米芸術家交換プログラムは、日米友好基金（The Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission）と全米芸術基金（The National Endowment for the Arts）の主催のもと、日本の文化庁と国際文化会館の協力を得て、1978年より実施されています。

以後41年間に渡り、毎年米国を拠点とするアーティストが選出され、日本で文化・芸術の研修が行われてきました。2020-21年のプログラムでは発足以来初の試みとして、日米のアーティストがチームを組んで作品をつくり、2021年のオリンピック・パラリンピック開催時期に合わせて東京で展示・上演します。アートを通して長きに渡る日米の友好関係を象徴し、東京オリンピック・パラリンピックを記念する特別企画です。

Projects

01

空手 × デジタルテクノロジー「KATA」

日時：2021年7月30＆31日

場所：渋谷文化総合センター

02

日米ダンス合作：ストリートとコンテンポラリー

日時：2021年7月17＆18日

場所：シアターX（カイ）

03

旅はすみか The Journey Itself Home

日時：2021年夏

場所：世田谷美術館他

04

サステナビリティを探究するアートレストラン

日時：2021年夏

場所：世田谷美術館他

05

日米キッズ・パブリック・アートプロジェクト

日時：2021年夏

場所：TBA

News

2021.04.23: YouTubeチャンネル開設
2020.08.09: 短編ドキュメンタリー公開
2020.08.06: メディア掲載 (Japan Forward)
2020.06.22: ウェブサイトリニューアル公開

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One of the Nichi Bei Creative Artists teams recent

One of the Nichi Bei Creative Artists teams recently unveiled the latest results of their international artistic partnership: a beautiful mosaic mural, installed at Lumbini Kindergarten in Saiki, Japan. This collaborative work of public art is made of multi-colored tiles and was designed by young people from Philadelphia’s Bache Martin Elementary School, and from Saiki’s Lumbini Kindergarten and Tsuruoka Children's Club. In a series of workshops, the Nichi Bei Creative Artists team members (muralist Ben Volta, educator Cho Kuwakado, and artist Yasuyuki Sakura) guided the children to create art inspired by Olympic athletes and the creative movement of sports; out of the hundreds of drawings created by the children, team members then selected several that could be translated into the form of a tile mural. To see pictures of the finished work at Lumbini Kindergarten, visit instagram.com/benvolta. On June 17 in the U.S. (June 18 in Japan), Volta, Kuwakado, and Sakura will speak with former Asian Cultural Council executive director Miho Walsh about their project and the process of collaborating internationally. The virtual discussion, “United by Energy and Emotion,” is the latest in a series of online events that introduce Nichi Bei Creative Artists and team members to the public. The event is free and pre-registration is required; visit bit.ly/Creativity_RoundTable to sign up and attend. Learn about the project at bit.ly/NichiBei_PublicArt. And for more on the Nichi Bei Creative Artists Program - made possible with support from @japanusfriendship @neaarts and @i_house_japan - visit nichibei-artists.org/en/.

On June 17 in the U.S. (June 18 in Japan), Nichi B

On June 17 in the U.S. (June 18 in Japan), Nichi Bei Creative Artists team members @benvolta, Cho Kuwakado, and Yasuyuki Sakura will join former Asian Cultural Council executive director Miho Walsh for “United by Energy and Emotion,” an online discussion of creativity, education, and international collaboration. Volta is a Philadelphia-based muralist who works with young people to create large-scale works inspired by science, math, nature, and other themes. Kuwakado directs Lumbini Kindergarten in Saiki City, Japan, and leads the Pacific Kids Mural Foundation (@packmf), which empowers young people in different countries to create collaborative works of public art. Sakura is the Pacific Kids Mural Foundation’s chief art director and the president of Team Sakura Art Project (tsap.biz). Together, the team members are working with young people to create art inspired by notable American and Japanese athletes, scientists, and educators; a large-scale ceramic mural resulting from their collaboration will be displayed in Saiki in June, and other works related to the project will be shared in Philadelphia later this year. The team’s upcoming virtual discussion is the fourth in a series of online events that introduce Nichi Bei Creative Artists to the public, and will include Japanese simultaneous interpretation. The event is open to the public and pre-registration is required; visit bit.ly/Creativity_RoundTable to sign up and attend. Learn more about the team’s project at bit.ly/NichiBei_PublicArt. And for more on the Nichi Bei Creative Artists Program - made possible with support from @japanusfriendship, @neaarts and @i_house_japan - visit nichibei-artists.org/en/.

To commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the Fuk

To commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, one Nichi Bei Creative Artists team is creating an innovative series of voice monuments that feature audio contributions from members of the public. The @journeyitselfhome project team found inspiration in traditional stone monuments from Japan’s Tōhoku coast. These carved stone markers have stood for centuries, warning residents of dangers from past tsunamis. To craft their unique voice monuments, the artists are experimenting with materials like metal, mirrors, plexiglass, and siding panels commonly used for residential construction. The voice monuments also incorporate solar panels and rechargeable batteries linked to small internal computers and speakers, which allow the monuments to function sustainably and self-sufficiently. Once completed, the voice monuments will play back “sonic haiku” that represent themes of adaptation, hope, and safety. Learn more about the development process behind the team's voice monuments at bit.ly/NichiBei_Journey. Journey Itself Home is a collaboration between American artists Sue Mark and Bruce Douglas (known collectively as @marksearchoakland and Japanese artists Hiroyuki Abe and Natsuka Endo. Together, the artists are honoring the memory of the Fukushima disaster through public engagement, sound, and poetry; their work is inspired by stories of Fukushima survivors, and the journeys of haiku master Bashō. Journey Itself Home was originally planned for premiere last year but postponed due to the pandemic; the project will now debut this summer in Japan. Learn more about the project at journeyitselfhome.com and instagram.com/JourneyItselfHome; watch videos related to the project at bit.ly/Journey_Soundscape and bit.ly/Journey_Roundtable. And for more on the Nichi Bei Creative Artists Program - made possible with support from @japanusfriendship, @neaarts and @i_house_japan - visit nichibei-artists.org/en/.

New videos that highlight innovative collaboration

New videos that highlight innovative collaborations between American and Japanese artists are now live on the Nichi Bei Creative Artists YouTube page. The videos include “Perseverance Through Motion,” a discussion with @kizunadance founder Cameron McKinney and his Creative Artists partner, renowned Japanese choreographer @toru_official; together, McKinney and Shimazaki are creating an original work of contemporary dance that combines the stories of Japanese and American dancers, and portrays the bond of friendship between the two countries. (Watch the full webinar at bit.ly/NichiBei_DanceWebinar.) Another video, “Monuments of the Now,” is a conversation about healing and community-engaged art, featuring American artists @marksearchoakland (Sue Mark and Bruce Douglas), Tokyo artists Hiroyuki Abe and Natsuka Endo, and Kanagawa-based researcher and educator Honomi Ijima; the group’s project @journeyitselfhome honors the ten-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster through sound, poetry, and public participation (watch the video at bit.ly/MonumentsOfTheNow). Several other videos highlight “Kata,” a unique Nichi Bei Creative Artists project created by composer and director Gene Coleman, music technologist Adam Vidiksis, shakuhachi player Akikazu Nakamura, and shamisen player Sansuzu Tsuruzawa; together, the artists will present a performance that melds original music and video with Japanese martial arts, motion detectors, and brain-scanning technology (Watch the “Kata” videos, and more, at bit.ly/NichiBeiVideos.) Nichi Bei Creative Artists projects bring American and Japanese artists together to create collaborative works that reflect themes of unity and friendship. Originally scheduled for premiere last year but postponed due to the pandemic, the projects will debut this summer in Japan. For more on the Nichi Bei Creative Artists Program - made possible with support from @japanusfriendship, @neaarts and @i_house_japan - visit nichibei-artists.org/en/.

Years before becoming a Nichi Bei Creative Artis

Years before becoming a Nichi Bei Creative Artists fellow, Philadelphia-based muralist @benvolta gave a dynamic presentation about his artistic process for @creativemorning. During the presentation (available for viewing online at creativemornings.com/talks/ben-volta), Volta discussed his use of color, his creative practice, and his collaborations with student artists. Whenever possible, Volta begins his mural projects with a completely blank slate, and relies on collective brainstorming with his team members to determine themes and directions. The process of discussion, experimentation, and discovery has yielded compelling results; among his collaborative public art projects are a train car painted with imagery of neurons and the human brain, a mural representing a gramophone for a music venue, and a large-scale work exploring circuits and electricity. Learn more about Volta’s many works of public art at www.benvolta.com/projects. Volta’s Creative Artists project is a collaboration with educator Cho Kuwakado, artist Yasuyuki Sakura, and photographer Hiroaki Seo; together, they are creating a work of public art that draws inspiration from the accomplishments and careers of scientists, sports figures, and educators from Japan and the United States. The finished work, scheduled for debut this summer in Japan, will combine individual pieces of art created by students from both countries. Learn more about the project at bit.ly/NichiBei_MuralProject. And for more on the Nichi Bei Creative Artists Program - made possible with support from @japanusfriendship, @neaarts and @i_house_japan - visit nichibei-artists.org/en/.

Composer Gene Coleman (@soundfield7) and his Nichi

Composer Gene Coleman (@soundfield7) and his Nichi Bei Creative Artists teammates have released “KATA: Transient Geometry” (watch at bit.ly/KATA_Video), a new music video that showcases elements of their collaborative and multi-disciplinary project KATA. The video features footage of martial artists, original music composed by Coleman, and digital imagery based on the brain’s neural architecture. Coleman’s collaborators—electronic musician @vidikulous, shamisen player Sansuzu Tsuruzawa, and shakuhachi player Akikazu Nakamura—are featured in the video as well. Coleman describes the full KATA project - which was inspired by Zen Buddhism and cutting-edge neuroscience - as a “docu-opera” that uses martial arts, traditional Japanese music and contemporary music and video to tell story about the connections between physical and virtual realities. On stage, KATA’s karate practitioners and musicians will wear motion detectors and brain scanners, which will provide real-time data for graphics and visualizations during the performance. Originally planned for last year but postponed due to the pandemic, KATA will premiere at Sakura Hall in Tokyo on July 30 and 31, 2021 during the rescheduled Summer Olympic Games. KATA will also be performed in the United States in Autumn 2021. Follow KATA online at instagram.com/kataproj and kataproject.org. And for more on the Nichi Bei Creative Artists Program - made possible with support from @japanusfriendship, @neaarts and @i_house_japan - 国際文化会館 - visit nichibei-artists.org/en/.

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