NichiBei Creative Artists

LANGUAGE

EN
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

2021.04.23

「声」の募集 (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

2021.05.01

Facebook更新 (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

facebook

Twitter

Tweets by nichibeiartist

Instagram

nichibeiartists

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/.

On 4/12 (in the U.S.) and 4/13 (in Japan), choreog

On 4/12 (in the U.S.) and 4/13 (in Japan), choreographers Cameron McKinney and Toru Shimazaki will join former Asian Cultural Council executive director Miho Walsh for an online discussion of dance and international collaboration. McKinney is the founder of @kizunadance, a New York City ensemble that celebrates Japanese language and culture through dance. Shimazaki is directing professor of dance at Kobe Jogakuin University in Japan, and founder of the Dance Barbizon company. For their Nichi Bei Creative Artists, the two are creating an original work of contemporary dance that features performers from both Kizuna Dance and Dance Barbizon; the performance will portray Japan’s and the United States’ enduring friendship. The work was scheduled to debut last year, but postponed due to the pandemic; the project will instead premiere at Tokyo’s Theater X this summer. McKinney’s and Shimazaki’s virtual discussion is the third in a series of online events that introduce Nichi Bei Creative Artists fellows and team members to the public, and will include simultaneous interpretations for both English- and Japanese-speaking viewers. Pre-registration is required; visit bit.ly/Dance_Roundtable to sign up for the event. 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 she became a Nichi Bei Creative Arti

Years before she became a Nichi Bei Creative Artists team member, renowned chef and restaurant founder @masayofunakoshi participated in a unique collaboration with the @moriartmuseum, entitled “Sacred Food.” Funakoshi interviewed artists whose works were featured in the Museum’s 2017 exhibition “SUNSHOWER: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia 1980s to Now” (read about the exhibition at Sunshower_Exhibition). Funakoshi then created an array of distinctive dishes inspired by those conversations; the dishes were served at a special rooftop celebration hosted by the museum, and later for a public meal as part of Roppongi Art Night　六本木アートナイト. (Learn more, and watch a short film documenting the original event, at bit.ly/Funakoshi_Mori and bit.ly/MoriSacredFood). For her Nichi Bei Creative Artists project, Funakoshi is collaborating with multi-disciplinary artist @jesse_____singer to create a temporary and experimental restaurant and architectural installation that examines sustainability through the lens of food and agriculture; originally scheduled for last year but postponed due to the pandemic, the project will debut at Tokyo’s Setagaya Art Museum this summer. Learn more at bit.ly/Sustainability_Restaurant and bit.ly/JUSFC_Sustainability_Food. 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/

The World - a long-running public radio news progr

The World - a long-running public radio news program - recently featured the work of Journey Itself Home, a Nichi Bei Creative Artists project that commemorates the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster through poetry, sound, personal stories and public engagement. In conversation with the creators of Journey Itself Home, host Marco Werman explores the project’s goals, its evolution before and during the pandemic, and the challenges associated with addressing such a momentous topic through art. The segment also examines how Journey Itself Home incorporates recorded audio from members of the public, including reflections from children and teenagers who survived the catastrophe. Hear the full story at bit.ly/TheWorld_Journey. Journey Itself Home is a collaboration between Oakland-based artists marksearch (Sue Mark and Bruce Douglas) and Tokyo artists Hiroyuki Abe and Natsuka Endo. The team will present their work via an online session on Friday 3/19 in the U.S. (Saturday 3/20 in Japan), hosted by the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission - JUSFC in collaboration with East-West Center and International House of Japan - 国際文化会館. Learn more about the virtual roundtable, and sign up to participate, at journeyitselfhome.com/Interaction-Workshop. For more on Journey Itself Home, visit JUSFC's blog (bit.ly/JUSFC_JourneyItselfHome) and the project’s homepage (journeyitselfhome.com). And for more on the Nichi Bei Creative Artists Program - made possible with support from the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, National Endowment for the Arts and International House of Japan - 国際文化会館 - visit nichibei-artists.org/en/.

Load More... Follow on Instagram