Exploring a Japanese Fishing Village through Art - symposium at Sophia University, Tokyo on 16 November 2025

Exploring a Japanese Fishing Village through Art

A Small Grant was awarded in March 2025 to support travel to Kitaushima village, Sado Island by artists Michael Collier, who recorded the sounds of swallows and other birds in order to then render them into visual pieces, and Hazel Barron-Cooper, who conducted research for watercolour paintings.

The resulting symposium, Exploring a Japanese Fishing Village through Art willl take place on Sunday 16 November from 10:00 to 18:40 at Sophia University: Room L-921, 9F, Library Building.
No registration required
In Person only

This project involves multiple artists visiting Kitaushima and responding to the village through different art works and media. The project starts from the premise that measuring and quantifying can only give us certain kinds of information and that quantitative approaches might be usefully supplemented by forms of investigation that involve the body, senses and experience. This approach could give us a more complete and living picture of places that are often characterized as “problems” but which in fact may hold solutions to many of our contemporary dilemmas.

Guest speakers will reflect on similar projects in villages in Brazil, Norway and the UK.

Dr. Christine Greiner, Catholic University of Sao Paolo,

Dr. Elisabeth Brun, Kristiania College, Oslo,

Dr. Becca Voelcker, Goldsmith’s University of London

Poetry by Yasuhiro Yotsumoto

Artist Talks by Mike Collier, Hazel Barron-Cooper, Atsuko Nakamura and Ana Genioli.

In addition, dance, poetry, puppetry, visual art, theatre and film will be presented on campus at Sophia on
12 and 15 November.

For more information please click on the link below.

Symposium Details