The 5th "Song, Language, and Body: Possibilities of Creating a Place for Diverse People to Meet" (Part II) Round Table

On February 9, 2024, an activity debriefing session was held to share the results and challenges of the projects selected for the "Social Grant" with the participants. The theme of the fifth session was "Songs, Words, and Bodies: The Possibility of Creating a Place for Diverse People to Meet." In the first part, we introduced the activities of the "Expression Club Yagaya," which has been creating a place where people with intellectual disabilities and various other people can enjoy music and dance workshops for nearly 20 years in Hikarigaoka, Nerima Ward. In the second part, we will deliver the activities of "Monten", which operates "Ryogoku Monten Hall" as a regional hall/art space open to everyone in Sumida Ward and has developed a variety of projects. In the second part, we will also tell you about the roundtable.

> Click here for the 5th "Song, Language, and Body - Possibility of creating a place for diverse people to meet" (Part 1) Expression Club Gayayaya​
> Click here for the 5th "Song, Language, and Body - Possibility of creating a place for diverse people to meet" (Part 2) General Incorporated Association Monten​

Date & Time

Friday, February 9, 2024 18:30 ~ 21:00

Venue

Arts Council Tokyo 5th floor conference room

Reporting organizations and speakers

EXPRESSION CLUB GAYAGAYA Miri Kojima, Tamami Yamada
MONTEN Yaeko Kurosaki, Miki Akaba

facilitator

Tomoki Ogawa

graphic facilitator

Mihoko Seki

sign language interpreter

Yuko Kato, Yuko Setoguchi

The need for continued support and hubs for community music

At the end, everyone took the stage, and the roundtable began with Mr. Ogawa facilitating. We will further deepen the four questions for Arts Council Tokyo raised by Mr. Kurosaki of Monten.

Ogawa

"As for what social support through arts and culture should be, he mentioned that it is necessary to obtain funds for continuous activities, to establish a network of various organizations and a hub to bring them together, and to share information with support organizations. First of all, what kind of image is hub? "Tokyo Culture Strategy 2030" also mentions the term "Art Hub." What kind of hub do you want, Kurosaki-san?"

Kurosaki

"I want to create a network because everyone who is doing community music has the same problem. For example, activity funds. If you get a grant, get people together, do something fun, and then it's over, people will be left behind. It also makes me feel guilty, wondering if it was good to do it. While sharing such concerns, we would like to think again about how to break through the problems, how to convey everyone's voices, and where to deliver them. We need a network. It's also a hub for people who want to participate and engage."

Ogawa

"What exactly is missing?"

Akabane

"First of all, a list of what kind of organizations there are. From the user's point of view, they may want to ask what kind of organization or artist they would be able to do workshops, and if they are artists, it is like a counseling center where they can ask how they can be involved in such activities. It is the center that connects that network. In addition, since this kind of fund has come down, it may be necessary to manage funds for culture and coordinate activities itself, such as what kind of organization to distribute it to, where and who to send to do this kind of business. I think Arts Council Tokyo is probably already doing it. In addition, we are compiling the voices of businesses involved in these activities in order to make policy recommendations on the results, issues, and requests of these activities."

Ogawa

"For example, is it a place where people with disabilities or without disabilities can concretely discuss where they can participate when they say they like music?"

Kojima

"I heard earlier that an art hub will be established, but I think it is meaningless if a hub is established to create a diverse society, but it becomes a hub only for those who are trained in high art."

Ogawa

"Right. We have to speak up about what kind of hub we want to be."

Ogawa

"Shall we talk about money next?"

Kurosaki

"I feel that we, who are engaged in activities, have made it into a myth that grants have a term of several years and that we cannot continue to receive them. I think we have to appeal that this is an activity that should be supported forever."

Akabane

"When we artists try to carry out an activity, we do it for free if we can't get a grant, and sometimes we pay the staff's fee out of our own pocket. When I get a call from a participant saying, "When is the next workshop?" and they are looking forward to it for a long time, after 2 or 3 years pass, I think, "I am not playing with their minds." If we don't do the activities, the participants will have nowhere to go. We need money to continue to exist, but without subsidies, we have to rely on volunteers."

Kojima

"If you have money, you can do many things, and the participants were wondering where they could do their art activities if we didn't do it. I don't think there are many other places to go, and I think it's a serious problem."

Yamada

"I live in Kyoto, so Kojima-san always provides me with a round trip transportation fee to Tokyo and a reward. However, Kojima-san is not preparing any reward for himself, and he is doing it with his energy. I myself have been able to work in a privileged environment, and my perspective has been broadened and I have been supported, so I am starting to think that I would like to do this in my own area. But I have to work to make a living, and it's difficult to balance working as a volunteer. But just recently, I passed by a facility where I thought I could volunteer in this area. If it's four times a year, I wonder if I can do something like dance or sing from scratch regardless of the remuneration.
There is never enough space for people who need such activities, so money is not enough, but if more people create such spaces regardless of money, I think we can make up for it. It's a tough one."

Ogawa

"Kurosaki-san, how much subsidy do you need to be stable?"

Kurosaki

"I think it depends on what kind of project you create and what kind of people you interact with. However, people in this field are on a shoestring. As a musician, I'd like to pay the same amount as the performance fee for concerts. There are various preparations other than the day itself, and I don't think community music will spread unless people who are involved in community music activities can make a living. There was a movement for a while that the sound and lighting staff, who used to be close to volunteers in general theater and movie performances, should receive a proper staff fee, and now the staff is also receiving a reward. I think that needs to happen in community music. Even in a workshop, there is a difference between what can be produced by amateurs and what can be produced by community music professionals. The experience and learning that a specialist has gained is the same as a performer learning music by practicing an instrument. In any art world, I would like to create a project that ensures that performers and staff can make a living."

Kojima

"I didn't expect this to happen (laughs). As Yamada-san said earlier, I think it is dangerous to say, "It would be good if the number of volunteers increased." It's not just about paying artists, it's about money. So you have to have a certain amount of money to do it."

Ogawa

"In the subsidy system, if the number of organizations subject to the subsidy increases more and more, it will cost an endless amount of money. But it's also true that there are many people who don't know what to do if they can't plan because they don't have money. What kind of system would you like to have next in order to continue your activities?"

Kurosaki

"I think that Arts Council Tokyo itself will surely have a place where we can give presentations to obtain funds. When Arts Council Tokyo cannot be distributed to everyone with the current budget, I think it would be good to have our voices heard upwards in order to obtain new funds."

Ogawa

"Unfortunately, the budget and environment for stable continuation of activities have not been established in the field. Perhaps a part of a long activity was subsidized, and we were able to implement it with more powerful content than usual, but it was really necessary beyond that."

Mr. Ogawa concluded the roundtable by saying, "In the 10 years since the establishment of Arts Council Tokyo, various parts have matured and various people's opinions have come out Arts Council Tokyo.

Tomoko Matsuoka, senior program officer at Arts Council Tokyo, said, "Thank you for sharply cutting into the limits of the subsidy system," and there was an answer that I can do now.

Matsuoka

"It's rare for an organization or project to continue to grant grants for a long time, and it's rare for Arts Council Tokyo grants to continue to be granted to the same organization or project. Social Grant is characterized by not setting a period of time to continue grants, but if you want to continue funding the same project, you will need to provide a reasonable reason or explanation. After all, the budget is limited, and the purpose of the subsidy system is not only to continue to support one community, but also to spread the results to society as a whole.
I think it is important to be able to take steps to the next plan where we can find the need to continue the subsidy, and to continue dialogue with the business operators through the subsidized projects.

The first question was "What did you think about sharing this initiative?" from Mr. Monten, but I and my colleagues visited it several times and thought that the challenges of community music were similar to the initiatives and issues that were raised in the field of other Social Grant funding recipients.

What left an impression on me when I observed the online course was what Ms. Rii Numata said, "We need to both close communities and open them up.".
Closure has an image of being closed, but I think it is sometimes necessary to create a safe place where participants feel they belong. However, if this is all there is to it, there will be a mismatch between what is stated in the Guidelines for Public Offering: "Efforts that are returned only to a specific person or organization are not eligible." Since the source of the grant is tax money, the results of the grant must be widely returned to society as a whole. In some cases, it is difficult to grant aid to projects that maintain a single place.
Therefore, it is also necessary to "open" the community, and I thought that after establishing the community where the participants belong, it would be good if the grant money was actively used for the "open" project.

Also, the question of whether Arts Council Tokyo itself can be a hub is necessary, and I thought that a place to share information with everyone who uses Social Grant and those who are interested in it is necessary, which is why I launched this debriefing session. Of course, the number of people who gather at this debriefing meeting is limited, so I think a larger hub is needed. In addition to the Grants Section, Arts Council Tokyo also has a section that provides more accompanying support, and from FY2023, a new section called Tokyo Support Center for the Arts and Culture ARTNOTO has been created. We do not yet know the specific image of a large hub, but I think that in order to realize it, we will need real advice and cooperation from private operators, so we look forward to your continued support."

The words that stood out to me throughout the session were: "If the business is gone, the people who were looking forward to it have nowhere to go." Expression leads to living. It has become an irreplaceable place not only for the victims but also for their families and other people around them. After listening to the reports of both organizations, I thought that "community music" is a way for individuals to put their own words to music and listen to the voices of others. I think that the public is not for the majority, but for the benefit of even one person, which will change society and eventually benefit many people. As mentioned in the report of the first debriefing session, I hope that the metropolitan government and national administration will be reformed so that the subsidy system works for daily artistic activities. I felt the need for a hub as a first step.

(Reporting and writing by Yuri Shirasaka)

EXPRESSION CLUB GAYAYA

It was established in 2003 by participants of a course held by the Kasuga-cho Youth Center in Nerima Ward. Mainly people with intellectual disabilities who live in the ward, music lovers and dance lovers gather once or twice a month to sing, dance and play. The songs and dances created there are made into works, and once a year they perform as "Gayayaya Live."

Social Grant Grant results

• Heisei 29 (2017) 2nd term "Gayayaya Live Hajimuyo"
• FY 31 (2019) 1st Term "clatter over there, clatter over here"
• FY 2022 1st Term "There it is, there it is, 2022"

General Incorporated Association Monten

Since its opening in 1989, Monnaka Ceiling Hall has actively performed a wide variety of music and performances with the aim of providing a high-quality art experience and fostering a wide audience. In 2013, it moved to Ryogoku and was renamed "Ryogoku Menten Hall" as a new art space. It is operated in partnership with various artists and local communities. It creates a new culture through experimental events.

Social Grant Grant results

• FY 2021 1st Term "Community music now and in the future"
• FY 2022 1st Term "The Present and Future of Community Music 2022"
• FY 2023 1st Term "The Present and Future of Community Music 2023"

Social Grant

A program to support "Activities that allow people who have limited opportunities to experience and participate in art due to their social environment to engage in art experiences, such as appreciation and creation, and to exercise their creativity and enrich their imagination." and "An artistic activity that sets social issues based on one's own awareness of problems and works to solve them through cooperation and collaboration with various people and organizations" for organizations working in Tokyo. It was started in fiscal year 27 (2015), and since fiscal year 28 (2016), public applications have been held twice a year. It has supported about 150 projects so far. It is not just "art for art's sake" or "art that is useful to society," but it is trying to support activities that propose and materialize a new way of art in which society and creative activities are inseparable in a way that has never been done before, so to speak, "the third art."