Past Events

14 September 2023

Private View and Artist Talk: Sumi Kanazawa in conversation with Jonathan Watkins

This event provided a first look at the work of Sumi Kanazawa and hear her discuss with Jonathan Watkins the ideas and inspiration behind her work for the exhibition Erase and See. Kanazawa’s work Drawings on Newspapers exemplifies her understanding of the contradictions and discrepancies that characterise our past and present. Kanazawa suggests ways of being more imaginative about how to live now, and problematises distinctions conventionally drawn between individuals, politics and society, and between public and private identities.

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7 September 2023

The Future of Dance - Crossing Social Borders

Yoriko Maeno is a Japanese dance theatre director and choreographer. Over the past 15 years, Maeno has crossed and blurred the boundaries between dance and other art media, dance and society, and the local and global. In this talk, Maeno introduces her two most recent projects related to local communities, about the culture of the Ama (“sea women”) in Japan, and her series of projects about dementia (2019-2021). Maeno shared her thoughts about the potential ecosystem for dance theatre, and further possibilities for it to tackle current issues facing humanity globally, such as divisions in society and the use of AI.

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7 September 2023

Special video screening: AMA-Perlentaucherin by Yoriko Maeno

AMA – the women of the sea, who use no diving equipment as they submerge their bodies into the ocean. Themed on the past and present of these mermaid women who form a cultural heritage unique to the East Asian region, this dance artwork fuses dance, music, art and video projection. This work poses serious questions to us who live in an age in which climate change and ocean pollution have become major issues. The approximately 4000 Ama who worked in Mie Prefecture’s Shima Peninsula 50 years ago have decreased in number by 7/8, with only about 500 left. There are fears that the Ama tradition may die out in the next ten to twenty years.

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5 September 2023

NATO and Japan

NATO’s plan to open a liaison office in Tokyo, an idea strongly criticized by China, seems to have been shelved after the French government expressed its opposition. The Western military alliance led by the US seeks to deepen connections with Asia-Pacific allies, prompting concern among some of its member states. In this seminar, Dr Philip Shetler-Jones talked about the impact that a NATO liaison office in Japan might have on the region’s geopolitics and security, and its challenges, and analyzed what is really behind NATO’s plan for an office in Tokyo.

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24 July 2023

Cultural Heritage and Conservation – Notre-Dame Cathedral and Shuri-jo Castle

On April 15th 2019, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire. About six months later, the Seiden (State Hall) of Shuri-jo Castle in Okinawa, Japan, which was a symbol of the Ryukyu kingdom, was completely destroyed by fire. The two buildings were very different in terms of legal status, cultural value, history, materials, and governance. On the other hand, there are quite a few similarities, such as strong social reactions, the role of scientific studies, and the importance of intangible cultural heritage. In this talk, Professor Kono considered the two cases from various angles and offer some thoughts on the recovery of cultural heritage after disasters of this kind.

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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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5 July 2023

Finding a sense of self amid European culture

Contemporary artist Maki Umehara works on producing artist books in German and other languages, and on projects with artists from various countries. In the collaborative projects [nüans] Umehara worked on in Europe, she focused on avoiding the clashes of binary oppositions such as Europe/Asia, male/female, conservative/liberal. The archival book she created through her projects examines how society depicts itself as a place for learning, like a school, with the underlining themes of “place for self-education” and “network”. In this talk Umehara showed how the smallest collective unit comprising society has transitioned over time and how she has started to create her own space away from all that. She talked about how she has found and improved her sense of self amid European culture.

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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

Otoineppu: Conversation with David Nash and Ryoko Sunazawa, moderated by Jonathan Watkins

Otoineppu is the smallest village in Hokkaido with fewer than 700 residents. The village is famous for its craftsmanship and art, and has wood carvings in many places, including the post office and railway station. David Nash and Bikky Sunazawa were inspired by Otoineppu’s pristine nature and wild forests and chose to work there. In this talk moderated by Jonathan Watkins, David Nash and Ryoko Sunazawa (Bikky’s widow) will explore artist practice in Otoineppu including the characteristics of the town, its natural environment and its seasons.

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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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15 June 2023

Private View: TENTACLE by Bikky Sunazawa

This event provides the opportunity to have a first look at the work of Bikky Sunazawa. Bikky Sunazawa was one of Japan’s most prominent post-War sculptors. Born in 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. This exhibition, TENTACLE, showcases a number of Bikky’s sculptures, wooden masks, paintings and drawings, made during his mature period, 1975 – 1986, when he was living in Otoineppu village, Hokkaido.

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