“TERATOTERA Festival 2013” is a large-scale exhibition event held near each of the stations along the JR Chuo Line between Koenji and Kichijoji Stations. Over a period of about two months starting in October 2013, a wide variety of events will take place, bringing out the unique charms of each area. Among the activities are a talk event involving neighborhood associations from around Japan, an art exhibition held on a department store rooftop, a video and dance performance set at an outdoor pool, and exhibitions using stores throughout the area as venues. This autumn, come to the festival of creative expression unfolding in the west of Tokyo.

Venues
Various locations along the JR Chuo Line

Dates
Oct 5 (Sat) – Nov 17 (Sun), 2013

【Beyond “commit“】
The main theme of this year’s TERATOTERA Festival is “commit.“
It’s a word which encompasses the meanings “devote oneself“ and “connect.“
Now, a little over two and a half years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, what are we devoting ourselves to and what are we trying to connect with?
In developing art projects, we have been able to find a sense of belonging (commitment) to local areas and collectives.
Why are we now going beyond close relationships with family and friends and looking (committing) to the larger community? Why are many artists starting to go beyond self-expression and move towards building (committing to) relationships with others?
Together with the TERAKKO–the volunteer staff members who support this project–we hope to explore through TERATOTERA Festival the question of whether art functions as a medium to which we are committed in the true sense.

(TERATOTERA Festival 2013 General Director, Nozomu Ogawa)

Contact
TERATOTERA Office / Ongoing (General Incorporated Association)
Art Center Ongoing, 1-8-7 Kichijoji Higashi-cho, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180-0002
Tel: 090-4737-4798
http://teratotera.jp

Organizers:
Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Tokyo Culture Creation Project Office (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)
Ongoing (General Incorporated Association)

Special concert and workshop by Oorutaichi + Utamo / TAPPERS RIOT!

Inokashira Park, a symbol of the Kichijoji area, is a place for relaxation. Many people come here on the weekend to get away from daily life and unwind. Inside each of these individuals flow numerous rhythms and melodies which at some point overlap, perhaps giving rise to new types of harmony.
In 2013, with the main concept of “commit,” TERATOTERA welcomes two sets of artists to Inokashira Park for a one-day-only live performance event: a tap dance workshop and an acoustic concert that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
On a late-summer Sunday, in tree-dappled sunlight and evening twilight, the rhythms and melodies reverberating through Inokashira Park will “play” an unforgettable moment–a singular music–in your heart.

TERATOTERA has been holding art projects in the Chuo Line area since 2010. Many volunteer staff members (called “Terakko”) participate in the operation of TERATOTERA, which actively connects with the area as it carries out its programs. In the two-plus years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, we have noticed major changes in participating Terakko. Now there is a strong awareness of larger ties to collectives and the local area which go beyond individual ties of friendship, company, and family; and this awareness seems to inspire participation in volunteer activities closely connected with the community. What’s more, one senses that this transformation is spreading–not only into the fields of art and volunteerism, but into society as a whole. In response to this societal transformation, TERATOTERA 2013 will hold a wide range of projects based on the theme “commit.” Why are we now going beyond close relationships with family and friends and looking (committing) to the larger community? Why are many artists starting to go beyond self-expression and move towards building (committing to) relationships with others? Together with three guests who are actively involved in projects focused on local and community ties, we will hold a discussion based on the key word “commit.”