A project has been launched that aims to create a stage that everyone can enjoy, regardless of disability or age!
(TOP image) The work of Karin Abe, a member of Art de Vivre, has been selected as the main visual for Kanagawa Prefecture's "Coexistence and Co-creation Project."
The place where plays are born
File.2 Coexistence and Co-creation Project: Living together, creating together - KANAGAWA ALL-COMERS STAGE -
(Koichi Imai/editor/writer)
The Kanagawa Arts Foundation, which operates the Kanagawa Arts Theatre (KAAT), Kanagawa Prefectural Hall, and Kanagawa Prefectural Music Hall, has launched the Coexistence and Co-creation Project "Living Together, Creating Together - KANAGAWA ALL-COMERS STAGE" this year. Commissioned by Kanagawa Prefecture, the project will host new stage performances and workshops that can be enjoyed and participated in by everyone, from children to adults, regardless of age or disability. Utilizing the foundation's know-how in project planning and facility management, the foundation will undertake practical initiatives aimed at borderless creative activities through the performing arts.
The first "Human Resources Development Seminar," which served as a kickoff lecture, was held in July, and was attended by the head of the Culture Division of the Kanagawa Prefectural International Culture and Tourism Bureau, the director of the Coexistence Society Promotion Section of the Welfare, Children and Future Bureau, which is promoting the "Kanagawa Charter for a Society Where We Live Together," and the head of the Pre-illness Prevention Section of the Health and Medical Affairs Department of the Health and Medical Affairs Bureau, which is promoting the "Kanagawa Pre-illness Improvement Declaration."
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With less than two years left until the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, we see information about the Paralympics and athletes aiming to participate almost every day. Although it is not yet widely known, the Olympic and Paralympic Games are not only a festival of sports, but are also said to be a festival of culture. The cultural program includes many performances by artists with disabilities, and aims to provide opportunities for more people to participate.
On the other hand, Japan is experiencing the world's fastest declining birthrate and aging population, and is approaching the age of 100 years of life expectancy. It's been a while since people said they were unsure what to do with their fathers after retirement. As people's lives continue to grow longer in the future, it will likely be suggested that they spend their time experiencing culture.
Furthermore, in recent years, attention has been focused on "social inclusion." "Social inclusion" refers to considering each and every citizen as a member of society, and is an initiative aimed at lowering or eliminating the barriers that prevent people from participating in society (socially vulnerable people). According to the Daijisen dictionary, socially vulnerable people are "people who are socially disadvantaged, with limited income, physical ability, or voice due to factors such as employment or educational opportunities, differences in race, religion, nationality, or gender, or illness (such as the elderly, disabled, children, women, the unemployed, ethnic minorities, refugees, and the poor)."
In light of these various changes in the environment, theaters and other arts and cultural facilities have recently been given a new mission: to use the attractive material of "culture" to promote social inclusion. Following the enactment of the "Basic Act on Culture and the Arts" through the revision of the "Basic Act on the Promotion of Culture and the Arts" in June 2017, the "Basic Plan for the Promotion of Culture and the Arts" was approved by the Cabinet in March 2018.
Below is an excerpt:
(The significance of social inclusion through culture and the arts)
The Basic Act on Culture and the Arts states that "creating and enjoying culture and the arts is the innate right of people," and that "all citizens should be able to enjoy equal opportunities in the arts and culture, regardless of their age, disability, economic situation, or place of residence." Furthermore, culture and the arts have the function of social inclusion, respecting diverse values and promoting mutual understanding with others through opportunities for people to participate in them.
For these reasons, it is desirable to create an environment in which everyone, from children to the elderly, as well as people with disabilities and foreign residents, can enjoy equal opportunities to experience cultural and artistic activities throughout their lives, regardless of the region they live in. At the same time, in order to maintain, pass on, develop and create the diversity and richness of Japan's culture and arts themselves, it is necessary to promote culture and arts in accordance with the characteristics of each region, such as culture rooted in the history and faith of each region and distinctive local cultures.
The "Symbiosis Co-creation Project" was launched in response to these social demands. Going forward, we plan to create and disseminate attractive content that is conscious of realizing a symbiotic society.
First, to commemorate the launch, the Saitama Gold Theater, a theater group for seniors, will perform "Wareware no Moromoro 2018" at the Prefectural Mutual Aid Hall on Saturday, October 13th and Sunday, October 14th.
Saitama Gold Theater is a theater group launched in 2006 under the direction of the late artistic director Yukio Ninagawa. Currently, the group consists of 36 members (as of April 2018) ranging in age from 67 to 92, and has performed overseas.
Starting with this performance, many different performances and workshops are being prepared for the future.
■Vietnam "Ah-O Show" Workshop
Date: Mid-November 2018 (schedule to be determined)
Venue: Prefectural Mutual Aid Hall
*All production, staffing, performances, and musical instruments are handled by Vietnamese people. This workshop is open to both children and adults and is run by a performing arts company that has toured the world, including France, the home of circus, and has received acclaim.
■Türksoy (International Turkic Cultural Organization) 25th Anniversary Concert "Great Heritage of the Turkic World"
Date: Thursday, November 15, 2018
Venue: Prefectural Mutual Aid Hall
*A concert in Japan by Turkic-speaking national cultural organization "Türksoy," which is made up of six Central Asian countries and Russia.
■Experimental Gig "Futuramax"
Date: December 24, 2018 (Monday, Shinkyu)
Venue: Prefectural Mutual Aid Hall
*An unusual Christmas concert featuring virtuoso jazz pianist Dairo Suga and 85-year-old bassist Isao Suzuki.
■Blue Print Present “SAKEBU”
Dates: January 16th (Wed) - 20th (Sun), 2019
Venue: Prefectural Mutual Aid Hall
* Featuring dancers in their teens and twenties who are garnering worldwide attention. This dance performance depicts the past and future of these dancers, who have been involved in dance since childhood and have struggled and struggled in difficult environments.
■TPAM - International Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama 2019 Related Events
Dates: Thursday, February 14th and Friday, February 15th, 2019
Venue: Prefectural Mutual Aid Hall
*Showcases and other events are held as part of the TPAM, an international performing arts platform that is held in various locations in Yokohama every February.
■Stopgap Dance Company "Enormous Room"
Date: Sunday, March 3, 2019
Venue: Earth Plaza (Kanagawa Prefectural Global Citizen Kanagawa Plaza)
*A leading British dance company whose members include wheelchair dancers, dancers with Down's syndrome, and able-bodied dancers. Workshops will also be held from March 4th (Mon) to 6th (Wed).
Kanagawa Senior Citizens' Creative Creation Project "Challenge of the Silver" Presentation & Information Session
Date: Sunday, March 16, 2019
Venue: Prefectural Mutual Aid Hall
*This is a creative project program centered on the elderly. Directed by Yoko Ando, a dancer and choreographer from Kanagawa, the project aims to help elderly people discover new possibilities and discover new things about their bodies through physical expression, and to "create together" with them. In addition to the stage presentation, an information session will be held to recruit participants.
