Things and ideas that flourish in the gaps

Our time in 2020 has shaken things we always took for granted. There must be lots of people who have changed their way of working and their way of life in the community because of the spread of remote communication and restrictions on movement. In the midst of these changes, it also seems that we are less likely than ever before to encounter different viewpoints and diverse values. It is important for us to think about how to enrich our own lives while relaxing the mindset that this is how things must be.

In this third discussion, in an attempt to broaden our perspectives and horizons under the concept of temporal and spatial “gaps,” we welcome as our guests Naoko Shigehara, head of awai art center (Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture)which operates a local gallery, and Yu Ohtani, who founded the communication hub “Das Japanische Haus”(“The Japanese House”)in a vacant house in Leipzig in Germany, and engages in research and practices related to the struggle of people who come from the “gaps” in the urban landscape.

As attempted by our two guests, the process and operation involved in creating places where various values and perspectives coexist could provide clues for thinking about our actions going forward. We find out what sort of thoughts and ideas they had in their respective locales, and what they noticed in establishing their respective projects. In addition, we find out what steps they are looking to make under the circumstances.