Events category: Special event

20 July 2023

Gallery Tour: TENTACLE by Bikky Sunazawa

Join us for a free lunchtime tour related to our exhibition, TENTACLE by Bikky Sunazawa, led by the Foundation’s staff. Bikky Sunazawa was one of Japan’s most prominent post-War sculptors. Born in Asahikawa on the island of Hokkaido, he was self-taught, developing a practice that was concerned essentially with self-expression through capturing the spirit of human and animal subjects. He is most renowned for his woodcarving, sometimes for public sculptures, but also made abstract paintings and drawings, accessories and furniture. The tour focused on Bikky Sunazawa’s art practice, his humanity, and his true nature.

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22 June 2023

Special Video Screening: Okinawa Islands by Naoko Hentona & Cocco

Utahai (‘song-prayer’) was initiated in Okinawa as a prayer for peace through music, visual arts and dance in 2015, expanding to Tokyo in 2018. The musical form cuts across the genres of Ryukyu traditional music, folk songs and pop and to reflect a spectrum of expression by performers. This screening showcases an edited version of Okinawan Utahai from 2022, performed and filmed in Tokyo. The piece, Time, takes the viewer from the present day back to the Battle of Okinawa (1945) in which many civilians lost their lives. The music was written and played by Hentona herself. The works by Naoko Hentona and Cocco cause us to pause and see Okinawa both in the light of its rich history and the scars in its shadows. The works thus seeks to invoke a sense of connection with other countries and cultures through performance.
22 June – 24 July 2023,
Monday–Friday 9:30am–5pm;
Admission free, no booking required

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19 June 2023

Gallery Tour with Ryoko Sunazawa: TENTACLE by Bikky Sunazawa

Join us for a free lunchtime tour related to our exhibition, TENTACLE by Bikky Sunazawa, led by Ryoko Sunazawa. Bikky Sunazawa was one of Japan’s most prominent post-War sculptors. Born in Asahikawa on the island of Hokkaido, he was self-taught, developing a practice that was concerned essentially with self-expression through capturing the spirit of human and animal subjects. He is most renowned for his woodcarving, sometimes for public sculptures, but also made abstract paintings and drawings, accessories and furniture. The tour focused on Bikky Sunazawa’s art practice, his humanity, and his true nature.

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16 June 2023

Gallery Tour and Workshop: TENTACLE by Bikky Sunazawa

Join us for a free lunchtime tour and workshop related to our exhibition, TENTACLE by Bikky Sunazawa, led by Ryoko Sunazawa and Satomi Igarashi.  
TENTACLE by Bikky Sunazawa explores how the artist developed a practice that was concerned essentially with self-expression through capturing the spirits of human and animal subjects. The tours will focus on Bikky Sunazawa’s art practice, his humanity, and his true nature. In the workshop that follows, the participants will have an opportunity to make an artwork called 樹頭を持つ女 (Woman carrying the treetop) out of willow sticks, which will be displayed in the gallery. 

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22 March 2023

An Evening with Takashi Kikuchi, Viola Player

For this special event, we screened the compelling short documentary about award-winning blind Japanese viola player Takashi Kikuchi, as he overcomes his fear of movement through dance and imagination. This special screening was accompanied by a solo performance on viola by Takashi and the opportunity to ask Takashi and film director Cécile any questions in the Q&A chaired by Jason James, Director General of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. Takashi was commissioned by the Baluji Music Foundation, and is part of a triptych of films about blind musicians in the Inner Vision Orchestra.

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1 March 2022

Sharing Senses

During the pandemic we experienced a transformation of standard methods of communication, with a significant increase in online interaction.  The workshop “Sharing Senses” aims to share senses with participants online, through our computer screens. Participants will explore the possibility of sharing senses in separate three-dimensional spaces by using a two-dimensional screen and online communication. 

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25 May 2021

Jeremy Thomas – Working with Japanese Film Directors

In this webinar, chaired by film producer Shozo Ichiyama, legendary Oscar-winning auteur and film producer Jeremy Thomas discussed the cultural influences surrounding Japanese cinema and what drew him to work with Japanese directors and actors, and explored creative approaches to scripted projects that break through with international audiences.

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