We are holding a workshop in which we will consider art programs that will strengthen understanding of elderly people living in the community and which can be enjoyed at home. The workshop facilitator will be Mayuko Arakawa, who works on making art-related activities open and accessible to as many people as possible.
This workshop asks participants to think together about expressive activities able to reach the daily lives of individuals.

Projections for the future in recent years suggest that the population of elderly people in Sumida-ku is expected to increase. Particularly in the Mukojima area of northeastern Tokyo (ie Sumida-ku’s Higashimukojima 1 to 6 chome and Kyojima areas), the population is aging at a fast rate, and it constitutes the area with the highest number of elderly people living alone. Some people here are forced to live a hermit-like life for a variety of reasons, including aging-related physical changes, sudden injury, or illness.

Against this backdrop, a variety of citizen-led art projects have been implemented in this area since the 1990s, with many creators undertaking expressive activities and engaging with the local community. Workshop organizer Fantasia! Fantasia!: A community where lifestyles are made real (known as Fan Fan) is one such group. This sort of project taking art out into the community has gained popularity nationwide since the 2000s onwards. In this initiative, Fan Fan would like to consider the possibilities for enabling creative expression to be taken not only to the streets but also to the homes of each person who makes up the community.