Horiuchi, Shiro
(2017)
Coordinators Bridge Residents And Artists
In Regional Japan: A Case Study Of The Art
Project Hanarart.
International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS), 13 (2).
pp. 1-22.
ISSN ISSN: 1823-6243
Abstract
In the age of globalisation, the transiency of individuals has been increasing.
Consequently, some regional communities face the risk of collapse and disappearance.
Particularly in Japan, centralisation in and around global cities such as Tokyo has
accelerated the decline of regional communities. Given this current clime, residents
of regional areas would beneft from building ties with outsiders in order to keep
their communities strong. Certain individuals could take on the role of coordinator,
who can work to bridge the gap between the residents and outsiders. The role of
the coordinator, however, is not yet clear. This study introduces a case study of the
art project Hanarart ( はならぁと) which involves residents and outside artists in
regional areas of Nara, Japan. Part of the art project intends to renovate and reuse
the machiya buildings in Japanese traditional style, with the help of site-specifc
contemporary art that will ft well with the machiya style. In the art project, outside
artists prepare their artworks in the abandoned buildings, which are managed by
the residents. During the frst stage of the project, residents and artists did not
communicate well due to either their indifference or ignorance toward each other's
interests. In the next stage, however, assigned coordinators promoted communication
between the residents and artists for the sake of contemporary art. Through the
process of trial and error, the project resulted in contributing to the community
in a number of ways.
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