In the kyodo 20_30 project based in the Kyodo district of Setagaya-ku in Tokyo, organizers discuss and create works on the theme of “invisible borders” with people in their 20s to 30s who have different nationalities, languages and cultures.
The Kokokara Exhibition presents five works created in 2021 which showcase the results of the kyodo 20_30 project.
In a corner of a shopping street in Kyodo, a passer-by and an artist draw/paint a likeness of the other based on first impressions alone, and without knowing anything about each other. When they take a short break, for the first time they swap information about each other’s nationality and religion, cultural background, age, occupation, etc. After the break the two continue with their drawing/painting. A video recording of the event and the actual drawings/paintings will be on display at the exhibition venue on the day.
*“Visit reservation” required
Exhibition venue: Kyodo Atelier
Participating members: 胡雪寧, Yusuke Hasegawa, Yuu, 鄭禹晨, Yasuhito Yano
With the cooperation of: 胡征宇, 呂青, 蔣雯, Kuroneko Doughnuts, 祝立志
Convenience stores, supermarkets, hospitals: you see foreign nationals working in all sorts of places around Japan. It’s an extremely normal and everyday thing but what does it feel like to come from a distant country and work in Japan? The way I (Sari Shibata) see it, Japan is somewhat uniform and homogeneous, and hasn’t deepened its understanding of religion or different cultures, so it might be a difficult country for non-Japanese to live in. I wondered how Japan seemed to people who come here and try to learn Japanese. I created this work on the basis of conversations with students and teachers at a Japanese language school. I hope it creates an opportunity for thinking about multicultural coexistence going forward.
*“Visit reservation” required
Exhibition venue: Kyodo Atelier
Participating members: Sari Shibata, aqiLA, Megumi Kiriha, Yusuke Hasegawa, Nanami Abe
With the cooperation of: Tohoku Tabunka Academy Foundation
Actor Shoichi Ayada repeatedly takes a walk around Shin-Okubo with different people. Aristotle’s disciples apparently came to be known as the “Peripatetic School” because of Aristotle’s habit of lecturing while walking. This implies learning is coupled with bodily experience and is always part of the process. When you take a walk, your body changes, and the way you look at the streets around you changes. This project shares that process, and the byproducts of taking a walk.
*“Visit reservation” required
Exhibition venue: Kyodo Atelier
Participating members: Shoichi Ayada, Hirokazu Murohashi, Nanami Abe, 楊淳婷, Roy Taro, 胡雪寧, Megumi Kiriha, Sari Shibata
These “shot movies” are made with an awareness of the tension or the friction between story and physicality. With a focus on shots – the momentary fragments comprising an actor’s gestures, method of expression, speaking style, etc.- these movies are made in an experimental way, determining the moment when these shots overlap to form a movie (i.e. film/story elements). At what stage do people construe the story? And accordingly, what are the elements that make up the story and meaning? This event offers a back-to-back screening of work 1 “Hachigatsu taidan roku”(“A record of conversations in August”), made remotely in August 2021, and work 2 “Henso” (“Variation”),filmed in person between September and December 2021.
*“Visit reservation”and “viewing reservation” required
Screening date/time
1.Saturday, February 26, 2022 14:30 – 16:00
2. Saturday, February 26, 2022 16:30 – 18:00 + talk
3.Sunday, February 27, 2022 14:30 – 16:00
4. Sunday, February 27, 2022 16:30 – 18:00 + talk
*Running time: 1+2 together, 90 minutes (scheduled)
*Capacity: 12 per session (first-come-first-served basis)
*16:30 sessions include a talk by the production team after the screenings
Screening venue: Mahora Shokudo 2F
Reception: Mahora Shokudo 1F entrance
Reception open: 30 minutes before screenings begin
Admission time: 10 minutes before screenings begin
Admission price: 500 yen *Please pay at reception on the day
Participating members: 蔣雯, Yusuke Hasegawa, Arisa Tomitaka, Shoichi Ayada, aqiLa, Megumi Kiriha,Yuko Kawabuchi, Yasuhito Yano, 呉楽, 董敬, Le Hai Ly
Artist Roy Taro works with “Jade Sun”as his motif. This event offers a live performance of Taro painting actor Joji Ogawa’s body. Body painting has been part of human life since ancient times. Ogawa will express what his body feels as bodily movement. Actors can freely do anything. He can even escape the paint. What new relationship will these two people have after the performance?
*“Visit reservation”and “viewing reservation”required
Performance date/time
1.Saturday, February 26, 2022 12:00 – 13:00
2. Saturday, February 26, 2022 17:00 – 18:00
3.Sunday, February 27, 2022 12:00 – 13:00
4. Sunday, February 27, 2022 17:00 – 18:00
*Performance time: 45 minutes (scheduled)
*Capacity: 6 per session (first-come-first-served basis)
*The bodypainting will involve nudity. Please refrain from attending the performance if you are easily offended.
Performance venue: Kyodo Atelier
Reception: Kyodo Atelier 2F Living area
Reception open: 30 minutes before the performance begins
Admission price: 500 yen *Please pay at reception on the day
Participating members: Roy Taro Joji Ogawa, Yuko Kawabuchi,Shunpei Okuda
The Walking School shares its “walking theory” as gleaned from the kyodo 20_30 project, in a workshop involving a bespoke walk that physically connects the two exhibition venues. Participants will walk from Kyodo Atelier to Mahora Shokudo. When you arrive you have the option of watching “Towards physicality that goes beyond meaning.” This event allows you to enjoy the Kokokara exhibition as well as the Kyodo neighborhood. Children who cannot read the map should be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
*“Visit reservation”and “viewing reservation”required
Workshop date/time
1.Saturday, February 26, 2022 13:00 –
2. Sunday, February 27, 2022 13:00 –
*Running time: Around 90 minutes
*Capacity: 8 per session (first-come-first-served basis)
Meeting place: Kyodo Atelier 2F
Event ends at: Mahora Shokudo 1F
Participating members: Shoichi Ayada,Shin Terakado, Megumi Kiriha
Please use the Kokokara exhibition reservation form here.
In order to visit the Kokokara exhibition, you need to make a “visit reservation.” You also need to make an advance “viewing reservation” to see some works, due to limitations on visitor numbers.
A “visit reservation” is a reservation for visiting the Kokokara exhibition. Please be sure to apply.
A “viewing reservation” is a reservation for seeing a work. For works that require an advance viewing reservation, you should apply for this at the same time you apply for a visit reservation.
This exhibition is being held with thorough coronavirus preventive measures in place, but exhibition details and schedules are subject to change depending on the situation.
*Personal information such as your name and phone number as provided to us will be used only for program operation and contact purposes.
Beyond Invisible Borders Administrative Office (@ Theatre Company shelf)
Tel: 090-6139-9578
E-mail: info@theatre-shelf.org
Kyodo Atelier (4-31-8 Kyodo, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo)
Mahora Shokudo 2F (1-4-11 Kyodo, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo)