“I can’t believe there is no record of such a great event!”
Sumida-ku is a place where abundant time and space has been cultivated throughout the community alongside a variety of activities and arts connected with local life. While on the one hand cultural activity has continued to grow on a grassroots level, many events often live on only in someone’s memory. Another feature may be that a complicated tangle of inherited and unrecorded memories has supported the culture of groups, places, and communities as a whole.
The Sumi-log project is an attempt to create an archive of local cultural activity focusing on the diverse cultural activity that has taken place in Sumida-ku.
We will not only gather memories of well-documented and well-known events you can still find in records, archive images/video, newspapers and Internet articles, but also gather memories of little-known events like nameless exhibitions, workshops, performances and parties which took place in the area. Shifting attention to the existence of the memories and experiences of individuals who have continued to support local culture may provide an opportunity to reconsider our own activities through realization of the existence of things that, though modest, have most certainly given rise to local culture, and which cannot be learned about from mere data. Why not join us in thinking about what we can learn from community archives, and how we can preserve and communicate activities going forward.
Using examples of art projects that have taken place in Sumida-ku, we discuss changes in the leaders of community and cultural activity, and the recording of local art projects from the perspectives of sociology and cultural anthropology.
Date/time: Sunday, August 1 2021, 13:00 – 15:00
Guests: Sunmee Kim (Faculty of Humanities, Department of Contemporary Societies, Seikei University), Kikuko Nobori (Visiting researcher, National Museum of Ethnology)
MC: Erika Yonezawa (Fantasia! Fantasia! Office)
Venue: Online
Capacity: 30
Participation fee: Free (Reservations required. First-come-first-served basis. *Participants responsible for internet costs.)
According to era, we talk about concrete items such as photographs and printed matter, as well as past projects, events and art spaces in Sumida-ku which each carry their own memories. The discussion may be an opportunity to look back on nostalgic memories and encounter hitherto unknown events. In addition, we aim to provide a forum for participants to think about how to archive local cultural activities and how they can be used for future activities, while bringing in their own experiences.
Session 1 “Let’s talk about events up to 2005”
Saturday, August 14 2021, 15:00 – 16:30
Session 2 “Let’s talk about events up to 2010”
Saturday, September 11 2021, 15:00 – 16:30
Session 3 “Let’s talk about events up to 2015”
Saturday, October 16 2021, 15:00 – 16:30
Session 4 “Let’s talk about events up to 2020”
Saturday, November 20 2021, 15:00 – 16:30
Venue: Online and Gate Studio
Capacity: 10 per event
Participation fee: Free (Reservations required. First-come-first-served basis. Participants responsible for internet costs.)
This is a display of records of various activities in Sumida-ku which have been researched under the Sumi-log project, as well as memories accumulated through the discussion “Let’s talk about that event”.
Venue: Gate Studio (5-23-3 Higashimukojima, Sumida-ku, Tokyo)
Date/time: December 10 – 12 and 17 – 19, 2022, 10:00-17:00
Participation fee: Free
Capacity: 8
*Should events reach capacity, you may have to wait to be admitted.
*This event will be run with measures in place to prevent the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19).
*When participating, please cooperate by wearing a mask, sanitizing your hands, and taking your temperature.
*Please come in warm clothes as venues may have windows and doors open for ventilation.
*The system in place for visiting is subject to change, depending on the situation regarding coronavirus. Please check the Facebook page for the latest information.
Fantasia! Fantasia! Office
E-mail: info.fantasiafantasia＠gmail.com
*Program details are subject to change.
*Your personal information will be handled as strictly confidential and used only for the running of the event and to send you information from the organizer.
Sunday, August 1 and Saturday 14,Saturday, September 11, Saturday, October 16, Saturday, November 20, Friday, December 10 – Sunday 12 and Friday 17 – Sunday 19, 2021
Online and Gate Studio (5-23-3 Higashimukojima, Sumida-ku, Tokyo)
