"To the hypocenter" Episode 1# Tokyo

Name of the organization or individual

To the Heart of the Bomb Executive Committee

subsidy category

Creation Grant

Grant Type

single year

FY2024 2nd Term Creation Grant Category I. Single-year Grant Art Creation Activities

Pop-up exhibition of the screening and talk session of "To the hypocenter". Photo by Hal Xing. Courtesy of To Hypocenter

The Art Bus (From left: Taku Arai, Mariko Mikami, Erika Kobayashi, Shinpei Takeda, Joy Kawakubo) and the planning members of the Art Bus "To the Atomic Bomb Heart". Photo by Hal Xing. Courtesy of To Hypocenter

A screening of "To the Atomic Bomb Center" and a talk session. Photo by Papero. Courtesy of To Hypocenter

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Business Overview

This project was carried out as an attempt to reconsider the hypocenter as the center of violence and to connect it with places other than Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On August 15, in addition to the screening of videos by Taku Arai, Joy Kawakubo, and Shinpei Takeda, Erika Kobayashi gave a bus tour, Takao Matsuda of the Musashino Keyaki-kai A-bomb survivor group gave a talk, and Rabri Umayan gave an online talk as a guest. On the 16th, there was a screening of a recitation music play by Kobayashi and Saho Terao, and a talk by Yuriko Tsukamoto of Noborito Research Institute as a guest.
On both days, there was a discussion about the passing down of memories by inexperienced people. On both days, in the lobby, Arai and Kobayashi exhibited Work in Progress works, Takeda experienced VR works, and exhibited participants ’ voices and recorded videos.

Period of Activity / Project

August 15, 2025 to 16

Venues

Hibiya Library Convention Hall, B1F, Large Hall/Hibiya Library Convention Hall

Profile

【 To the hypocenter 】
The art collective To the hypocenter/To Hypocenter was formed in 2024 by 5 artists and curators based in Japan and abroad with the aim of defining the hypocenter as the center of atrocities against not only human beings but also all life, and exploring alternative forms and methodologies to talk about the hypocenter through art, action, research and storytelling. It has been expanding its global and loose network through episodic activities based on monthly study meetings.
In August 2025, in order to respond to the Trinity test and the 80 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an art bus called "To the Atomic Bomb Heart" traveled a 3400 kilometer route between Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Tokyo. Inspired by the linear movement and encounters in the semi-public space of the bus, it organized an art festival on multiple histories and memories as an independent project.