Press

「アート・スクエアあおもりワンダーランド」

• ひろば　2000年　9月
• 青森県

"Art Square"

• Hiroba, 2000 September
• Aomori Prefecture

HIROBA, monthly public education information paper,
September 2000, Aomori Board of Education

ART SQUARE, vol.9
By Kenshi Kudo, curator, Aomori Art Museum and Park Project Office

Starting on August 12th through the 27th, Aomori Art Museum and Park Project Office hosted "Kids Art World Aomori 2000: A Millennial View of the Future."
It was an interactive art project for children, held at four venues across Aomori City; Aomori Shin-machi Mall, Yanagi-machi Mall, the Aomori Museum of Local History, and Sannai Maruyama Ruins.
The project had three conceptual pillars: First were exhibits.　 Children encountered art　 work that was displayed in a city landscape.　 Second were workshops and collaborative works.　 After the encounters with the art work, children engaged in creative processes in collaboration with artists, parents and other community members.　 Third were symposiums and performances.

We invited seven artists and showed their works in galleries and outdoors, where the works were seen by museum visitors and bystanders as well.　 Such an attempt helped us gain a fresh insight into how art functions in a city landscape and how we could improve aesthetics of the city through art.

The opening gala had a terrific turn out.　 Six artists and over a hundred audience members gathered and proceeded on a tour of the exhibition, "Let's talk to the Artists!" followed by a lively question and answer session.
In the mornings of the 14th, 15th, 19th and 20th, museum curators led guided tours called "Discover Art Wonderland."　 Many visitors strolled around the city to view the exhibit highlights that offered a rare glimpse into the diverse lexicon used in modern art. 　

Rica Takashima's workshop was called "Orikomi (news paper inserts) Art."　 In brief, Orikomi Art began with children visiting local merchants and conducting research on the businesses.
Then children created newspaper inserts about the merchants, which in turn were delivered to Aomori households as a part of morning papers.　 Children and Rica Takashima offered various artistic activities to those who had read the inserts and decided to come visit the merchants.

"Orikomi Art" drew a huge number of people to the merchants where children and the visitors interacted through various artistic media.

On the 13th, Rica Takashima launched her collaborative work called "Who's Miura?"
Ms. Miura was a real person who worked as a guide at the Museum of Local History.　 The artist devised Ms. Miura's Kaodashi-Kun (a peek-a-boo board), which allowed over a hundred people in a 3 day period to "become" Ms. Miura.　 They stood behind Ms. Miura's Kaodashi-Kun boards and took pictures of themselves being Ms. Miura.　 Later they had a chance to meet Ms. Miura in person.

On the 19th, Mr. Akiyama and Rica Takashima were invited to participate in an-hour-and-half long children's symposium titled "We are the Future Artists!" at ASPM (Aomori Prefectural Center for Industry and Tourism).　 Discussion covered a wide range of topics, from art to the power of elderly, and the children freely exchanged their ideas.