Go, see and feel the world of art
File.34 “Wharf Workshop 2020”
Miyuki Inoue (Magcal Editorial Department)
Wakabacho Wharf is an arts center located in Wakabacho, Yokohama City, run by playwright and director Shin Sato. Here, artists who are active in various parts of Japan and neighboring Asian cities such as China, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Cambodia meet, talk, learn from each other, create, and share their ideas both domestically and internationally. We are aiming to create a wharf to spread the word. The ``Wharf Workshop'' is one such initiative, in which young people from various countries gather every summer to create while living together.
* Click here for the report of Wharf Workshop 2018!
* Click here for the report of Wharf Workshop 2019!
In 2020, the <Wharf> project envisioned by Mr. Sato was scheduled to begin in earnest. However, the coronavirus pandemic has engulfed the world. I wonder what happened to the dockside workshop. And what is the current state of the <Wharf> where Asian young people gathered?
In mid-March 2021, I visited Wakabacho Wharf and spoke to Mr. Makoto Sato.
“Personally, I think it is necessary to think about the coronavirus and the disaster separately.The coronavirus is just one of the triggers.Because there is no way to deal with it, it has become a disaster. However, the various problems that surfaced this time could have occurred due to other triggers.
In such a situation, I thought the most important thing was ``Don't stop.'' Although it would be difficult to operate the facility as a rental theater or accommodation facility, we did not want to close the facility, so we opened up the first floor and developed the "vacant land project." As we connected with local people and through trial and error together, I feel that we have found a guideline for our future activities. That means ``we want to do it regardless of scale.''
* Click here for the vacant land project report!
Challenge of “Wharf Workshop 2020”
“I believe that the most important element of the performing arts is that people move, that is, leave their homes, move around, and gather together.To what extent can we do this in a situation where this is restricted? For example, it would be impossible to have a training camp with 15 people, but what kind of things can be done with 4 to 5 people?So this time, we will invite 4 people, mainly past participants of the Wharf Workshop, to do a residency production. At the same time, in the evening, we connected online with China and Singapore and exchanged information with past workshop participants."
On March 14th (Sunday), the results were announced as the ``Wharf Workshop 2020 Special Project.''
Until now, I have been creating based on Mr. Sato's text, but this time I was given only the concept of ``1 table 2 chairs/isolation''. There was a table, two chairs, and four artists on the stage. They performed three 60-minute pieces in total, with each pair performing 20 minutes in different combinations.
``I feel that the scale has become much smaller, but I think this is an opportunity for theater.The question now is, ``How will we coexist from now on?'' What does it mean to coexist with nature? So, theater is a fundamental means of expression and does not necessarily require a theater.It can be performed with a small number of people, and it can be performed even without technology such as lighting and sound.We need to reconsider the economic way we have been thinking until now. However, things have definitely changed in this regard with the advent of crowdfunding.For example, a small group of two or three people can create a work that can be taken anywhere, and tour it all over the country through a network of small theaters. If we can create a system to do this, there will be no need for artists and audiences alike to have a base in the city center."
Small international festival concept
“Another idea we have is to create a small festival in this area.
I would like to plan an international festival once people can move around. Rather than a traditional large-scale event, I imagine it to be an enlarged version of a dockside workshop, with small face-to-face encounters. This image was born out of the interaction we have been having since last year with neighboring art facilities. We collaborate with neighboring facilities and use spaces such as the eaves and vacant lots of the homes we support to hold workshops and create projects. Present the results. I want to create a new style that makes people think, ``This is why we created Wakabacho Wharf.''
