This year like last, small adult education organization Relight Committee is looking for students with the aim of producing “social sculpture.”
Based on the “social sculpture”* concept proposed by Joseph Beuys and as defined on the Relight Project, a social sculptor is someone who uses the creativity and imaginative powers inherent in art to continually generate new value in their life and work. Organizers believe that increased numbers of social sculptors in various fields will lead to the enrichment of society.
Of utmost importance to the Relight Committee is the idea that everyone is capable of working and mobilizing towards the transformation of society. A vital quality for a social sculptor is proactive mobilization through independence and autonomy. A social sculptor is also required to perform the ongoing task, as they survey society, of making decisions from a personal point of view; decisions that encourage acts of ingenuity.
The Relight Committee will offer classes centering on the following three styles of learning:
1. Tutorial
Utilizing specific examples from Japan and overseas, students engage in dialogue and discussion about art and society which transcend conventional definitions and frameworks. Students will also learn through lectures by tutors engaged in various social sculpture practices.
2. Experimental
Students learn about connection and cooperation through experimental first-hand experience of contemporary art, in particular performance art.
3. Practical
Each participant plans and implements “action” based on the Relight Days philosophy.
Diversified perspectives shared this way will see an increase in the number of people with practical capabilities, who understand the inherent possibilities of art, and can develop the power to break new ground themselves.
*Reference links
What is social sculpture? (artscape/Artswords)
Relight Committee 2016 record of activities (9-part serialization on Net TAM website)
No.9 in the series “I am a social sculptor”
A student on last year’s Relight Committee course looks back on the definition and undertakings of a “social sculptor.”
*Briefing and all the programs will be conducted in Japanese.
Number of participants
10 *to be chosen on the basis of application details and interview
Participants
・People interested in the relationship between art and society
・People seeking understanding from an artistic perspective and wanting to acquire new awareness
・People who want to use what they learn on this course in their own lives and work
・People interested in art projects
Entry requirements
No age limit, no experience of similar activities necessary
Activity dates
2017: July 29, August 26, September 16, October 14, November 18, December 16
2018: January 20, February 17, March 11 — 13, March 17
All held on Saturdays between 10:00 — 16:00
Venue
Room 302 (3331 Arts Chiyoda) and around Roppongi, Minato-ku
*Please note dates, venues and contents are subject to change.
Fee
Adult: 50,000 yen (including tax)
25 and under: 38,000 yen (including tax)
How to apply
Please apply using the form in the link below:
https://goo.gl/forms/Uj0yRJ9sLegKTr2O2
* Your personal information will only be used in connection with providing details for this event.
*Your personal information will be handled as strictly confidential, and used only to send you information from the organizer about this event.
*Deadline for applications
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Friday, May 19 — Sunday, June 25
Relight Committee student application period
Wednesday, June 28 — Sunday, July 2
Interviews of prospective students
Saturday, July 8
Successful applicants notified
Saturday, July 29
Relight Committee course begins
Date / Time
Saturday, June 3, 11:00-12:00
Wednesday, June 7, 19:00-20:00
Venue
inVisible office
(2-4-5 Nihonbashi-horidomecho 5F, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0012)
How to reserve
Please reserve using the form in the link below:
https://goo.gl/forms/mWI0LbiAK3H3Yvga2
*Your personal information will be handled as strictly confidential, and used only to send you information from the organizer about this event.
Hiroko Kikuchi (Creative director, inVisible / artist)
Hiroko Kikuchi is an artist, educator, and community & engagement designer. Her experiences extend from creating socially engaged art projects, to providing engagement based strategic direction and leading educational programs for arts and cultural institutions; management of programs for arts, culture, youth development and community-building, and design thinking for social change. She has worked for the MIT List Visual Art Center and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and her consulting clients include the Washington DC Office of Planning, Boston Public Library Foundation, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, and Vietnamese American Civic Association. In Japan, her work experiences include WAWA project, Aichi Triennale 2013, and Mori Art Museum. She lectures at Rikkyo University. She serves as a board member of Art and Society Research Center in Tokyo and advises for Mirai Tree and other educational and community organizations.
Akio Hayashi (Managing director, inVisible)
Akio Hahashi graduated from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. He worked for the NPO BEPPU PROJECT including Beppu Contemporary Art Festival ‘Mixed Bathing World 2012’ as a secretary-general, revitalizing the local community through arts and tourism whilst using public spaces and commercial venues. He had previously joined International Exchange Placement Programme (2009, London), and India-Japan Entrepreneur Exchange Project (2012). He is currently the Director of Tottori Artist in Residence Festival (2013~).
Shintaro Eguchi (Communication director, inVisible / editor)
Editor, Journalist. He is the representative director for TOKYObeta Ltd. He is one of the board directors for NPO Machinokoto, NPO inVisible, and The Alliance of Independent Authors in Japan. He spearheaded One Voice Campaign and is also a member of Open Knowledge Foundation Japan and Code for Japan to promote open government. He has written “ICT Word Dictionary”(Sanseido), “Public Shift” (Minutes Book), and others. Born in 1984, in Fukushima prefecture.
Relight Project office (inVisible)
E-mail：info@invisible.tokyo
inVisible office (2-4-5 Nihonbashi-horidomecho 5F, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0012)
Relight Project
Sunday, March 11 - Tuesday, March 13 2018
in front of “Counter Void” at Keyakizaka in Roppongi Hills
Art Project
Relight Project
Saturday, November 18 2017, 10:30-12:30
Arts Council Tokyo Room 302 (3331 Arts Chiyoda)
Art Project, Lecture / Symposium
