Between distance and proximity
Moving, connecting and crossing borders in Asia

Recent years have seen frequent exhibitions and artist-in-residence programs involving Asian artists taking place throughout Japan, and opportunities to encounter artists and artworks have increased. It is also easy to access art information from different parts of Asia via the Internet.

Materially and psychologically, Asia has gotten “closer.” However, when you consider that Japan too is a part of Asia, lumping all together as “Asia” under a sense of being “closer” might also end up keeping us at arm’s length instead. With collaborations between artists and curators from Asian countries and Japan currently active and thriving, we ask what kind of insights and forms of expression this is creating, and what activity and movement is being generated which differs from short-term cultural exchange.

Sometimes the broad concept and existence of “Asia” seems to go beyond the realm of physical reality and enter our consciousness as a vague impression. It may be especially necessary for us to look at our position and take a specific “one-to-one relationship” attitude.

In order to find out about the attitudes and approaches needed for building such relationships, we welcome as our guests for this discussion two practitioners with different viewpoints: one from the inside and one from the outside Japan. Haruka Iharada is a curator who has actually been involved in on-site projects in Asia; and Naoko Horiuchi of Arts Initiative Tokyo (AIT) who has run artist-in-residence programs bringing Asian artists and curators to Japan. We ask our guests how they comprehend Asia, and how they have confronted artists and art, and established relationships. What forms of expression become possible through moving and crossing borders, and what boundary lines appear? We hear about our two guests’ activities and consider these questions.

*This event will be conducted in Japanese.