Art Festivals & Events

Certainly, food and art play an important role in early adulthood, and considering that the existence of communities that nurture them forms municipalities, whether remote or urban, for all citizens residing in Japan and visitors from abroad, not only the scenery and historical sites, but also the people living in the present are the memories, records, and experiences of the land. In recognizing that food and art play a role in connecting nature and the history of the land—which is not something that schools can do alone—we will realize a program based on food, art, architecture, and crafts in 2023 that will be an opportunity for people to visit the area and give thought to the young people living today and in the future. Unlike a single event, the official activities of this program will continue for five years and are intended to grow into a sustainable art project that becomes an integral part of the local community and the world at large.

【Field of Stars】

A site-specific art project in Taiza, a remote, seaside village in a historically important area of Kyoto that prospered in ancient times. The project is a collaboration between artist Teresita Fernández and master carpenter Shuji Nakagawa, together with a younger generation of team members that includes Shunya Hashizume and Kohei Wakamatsu of TOMORROW and Cypress Fernández-Downs.

【Restaurant for those who live in the present】

Ken Sakamoto (cenci) and Yukinobu Yoshioka (Nawaya), both internationally acclaimed chefs, supervised the creation of a new local soul food menu that utilizes local ingredients and is both delicious and nourishing.

In addition, textile designer Yoko Ando is developing a Tango textile as an interior design material for the roadside station with TOMORROW's next-generation architecture team. This textile design aims to amplify the fun of eating in this new space.

【Ni】

AAWAA (COSMIC WONDER) will exhibit in the gallery of the Tango Ancient Village Museum an attempt to connect ancient and modern times by looking at the traces of sleep of the people who once lived in this area and built the country of Taniwa Kingdom. AAWAA will create and exhibit garments inspired by the museum's collection and cinnabar clay excavated from the tombs of Tango's Misaka Shrine.

【Ceramics and sculpture in dialogue with the history of architecture and place】

Contemporary artist Yoshihiro Suda will present a sculpture inspired by Naoya Shiga's book Morning Glory in the guest room of Mikiya, where Shiga stayed, and ceramic artist Akio Niisato will present a new work in a guest room that has just been renovated.

【A Little Prayer】

After giving much thought to the motives lie at the foundation of art-making, the conclusion reached was “prayer" and the meaning of cemeteries. Takuro Kuwata, Akio Niisato, Satoshi Sato, and Yoshihisa Tanaka will present perspectives from the fields of architecture, nature, craft, and art that question the meaning of art in the imagination of the visitor to the shrine and that we hope will be connected to the idea of prayer in the present.

【Nature Room】

While nurturing craftsmanship, Koh Kado, Shuji Nakagawa, Akio Niisato and Satoshi Sato will create spaces that consider future natural resources and propose living spaces that will resonate with the sensibilities of the next generation. This exhibition proposes a new way of coexisting with light and water in living spaces to become a regional model that eventually becomes standard in the region.

Main works

Yoshihiro Suda “Morning Glory”

Mikiya, which has a history of 300 years since its establishment, is an inn where the writer Naoya Shiga stayed many times and where he wrote his masterpiece “At Kinosaki.” "Morning glory” brings life to the guest room where Shiga deepen his thoughts on life and death from the creatures outside the window.

Shuji Nakagawa “Wooden Room”

Even in prehistoric times, people lived in harmony with wood. Although not as numerous as ceramics remain, people began to eat with stone or wooden spoons instead of scooping from their hands. It occurs to us that at that time, the relationship between people and the sky was even closer in spirit than it is today. Nakagawa contemplated the space of sleep like a small death while looking up at the sky alone. We dream of eventually expanding this wooden room outdoors, where we feel the wish to regenerate and gain the strength to live from the trees as we sleep.