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Connecting the past, present, and future of Honmoku, a town filled with legends, through art! “Honmoku Art Project 2017” held!

伝説に彩られたまち「本牧」の昔と今、そして未来をアートでつなげ! 「本牧アートプロジェクト 2017」開催!

− Various programs are currently underway, starting with the “Yasuno Miyauchi Kids Workshop” on October 11th. Please give us an overview of the Honmoku Art Project.

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[Okazaki] First of all, the Offsite Dance Project, which I am the representative of, has the concept of promoting performing arts in various spaces other than theaters, and is based in Yokohama and carries out dance-centered activities both domestically and internationally. It is a non-profit organization. The Honmoku Art Project was the first regional revitalization project undertaken. We started this project in 2013 by teaming up with Mr. Kasahara, who is committed to the development of Yokohama City, and by joining forces with artists in and outside of Honmoku, shops in Honmoku, and people with local networks.

-I heard that Mr. Kasahara is from the Honmoku area. How do you feel about the city's changes?

[Kasahara] I was born and raised in Negishi, which is adjacent to Honmoku. My parents' house is next to a US military housing area, so since I was little I played with Americans my age as a matter of course, and often participated in events such as Halloween. However, my honest opinion is that as times change, this environment has disappeared.

Regardless of the passage of time, there are usually some remnants of the past left in a town. However, in Honmoku's case, it may be extreme, but I also get the impression that he is stubborn.

As you may know, Honmoku was once home to a US military base, and was decorated with America, absorbing that culture and becoming the birthplace of jazz and dance. However, with the withdrawal of bases, the culture of that time rapidly faded. There was no place for people to experience American culture, and the face of the city at the time changed due to redevelopment. Further time passed, and in addition to the collapse of the bubble economy, the Yokohama Municipal Railway project was canceled, and in 2011, the cinema complex "Mycal Shochiku Cinemas Honmoku" (later MOVIX Honmoku), which started in 1996 in Mycal Honmoku, which was a symbol of redevelopment, was closed. Withdrew to. After that, until our project, all that was left was the building space.

The town of Honmoku is very unique, and first of all, the images that traditional residents and new residents have of the town are different. And, as the recent withdrawal of cinema complexes shows, there are no cultural facilities that could serve as a base in recent years. Furthermore, there is no nearby station, and there is not a strong flow of people from other areas.The current situation is a result of multiple factors intertwined. However, as someone who knows the lively Honmoku area, including myself, there are some aspects of the city that cannot be addressed by the nationally-recognized urban development issues.

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With this in mind, I felt strongly that those of us who knew what was going on at the time had to pass it on to the next generation. I also believe that the culture of Honmoku in the past is worth passing down. Young people may be surprised, but at its peak, on weekends, many people from not only Yokohama but also from Tokyo gathered to enjoy the "adult culture" where they stayed up all night with music and dancing. It was a bustling city.

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<The legendary disco “LINDY” in Honmoku>

-One of the programs, “Honmoku Night 2017,” allows you to feel the excitement of Honmoku at that time.

[Kasahara] That's right. The culture that Honmoku is proud of is "music" and "dance." It uniquely absorbed American culture, and ``The Golden Cups'' and ``Yazawa Eikichi'' appeared, and the dance step ``Hamachacha'' was established. The live house ``Golden Cup'' and the disco ``LINDY'', which are widely talked about as legends by people who spent their youth in the 70s, are also located in Honmoku. We have been holding ``Honmoku Night'' so that young people can experience the atmosphere of that time. This time, we will be featuring a live performance (December 1st) of "PANTA", known as the vocalist and guitarist of the brain police who built a legend at the dawn of Japanese rock in the 1970s, and a dancer "Ichiro Fujinaka" who led the disco scene at the time. We are planning a disco time (December 9th) with music critic and famous DJ ``Onuki Charter'' who also hosts LONDON NITE.

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<Inside the live house "Golden Cup" Photo by Tadashi Mori>

In fact, at the planning stage, we were trying to give it a modern feel so that even people who didn't know of their existence would enjoy it. But after a while, I stopped doing that. I thought it would be better for people to see the raw expression of an artist who was active in the 1970s, when Honmoku was vibrant. I felt that it would be better to convey the truth as it is, and that it would also be received by young people as a new and moving experience, so I made it extremely simple and straightforward so that people can enjoy live music and disco.

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<Mr. Ichiro Fujinaka: MOONEYES Area-1 in Honmoku Photo by Hideo Mori>

-The last two days, December 9th (Saturday) and December 10th (Sunday), will be filled with programs ranging from a ``children's disco event'' to ``movie screenings.'' Please tell me the characteristics of each.

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[Okazaki] The program will be held all at once at "HONMOKU AREA-2", which is also our base. It is on the site of the former Mycal Honmoku movie theater, and has eight spaces of various sizes. Although the screen and audience seats have been removed, the space can be transformed into a unique space depending on how it is used. Among them, "Satomi Uchiki Children's Disco Season 3", "Jack & Betty Movie Screening", "Natsuki Ishigami Talk & Archive", and "Honmoku AIR: Takuto Mase Presents Talk & Live" Let's look up at the sky 2017 ""is.

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<Foyer of HONMOKU AREA-2 Photo by Hideo Mori>
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<HONMOKU AREA-2 theater Photo by Hideo Mori>

Children's Disco was started in 2015 in partnership with contemporary dancer Satomi Uchiki, and is a party-style dance recital. Children who have been practicing since the recruitment of kids dancers will perform their dances. It is also a fun participatory program that can be attended by children and adults other than the publicly recruited kid dancers.

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<Children's disco Photo by Hideo Mori>

The Jack & Betty movie screening is a screening of movies related to Honmoku. So that people from Honmoku can experience the culture of Honmoku. In partnership with the mini theater "Cinema Jack & Betty" in Yokohama, "The Golden Cups One More Time" and "Like! Like! Like! ” etc. will be screened.

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<The Golden Cups One More Time>

Natsuki Ishigami Talk & Archive is about the audience-participatory theater piece ``Give Me Chocolate!'' by playwright Natsuki Ishigami, who has been participating since the first time. ” Report meeting. The work was first performed at the Honmoku Art Project in 2015, and then performed again in January 2017. The work was then recreated in Melbourne and Manila. Starting from Honmoku, we will introduce how the works have changed as they transcend national borders and are of different nationalities, races, and communities. We will also ask them to talk about the town of Honmoku that they have come to understand through their experiences abroad.

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<2015 “Give Me Chocolate!” 』Photo by Hideo Mori>

And Takuto Mase, who is doing a month-long residency as part of the ``Honmoku AIR'' residency program, is here, so I'd like to ask him to explain it to me in person (lol).

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-I heard that you are an artist who uses the city as his field of art. What kind of program is this time?

[Mase] This is the second part of the participatory art project called ``Sky Variations *cyrcle project,'' following the one in Kyoto. The objects used are rounded wire hangers that are common in daily life. Have the participants use the object as a ``frame'' to cut out the ``sky.'' In other words, we ask many people to capture their favorite sky within the frame. The location is anywhere in the Honmoku area. Also, I may accompany you to the photoshoot, or you are free to take the photo by yourself.

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Then, each person uploaded the sky they saw on a special website, and
I collect "Honmoku no Sora". For each photo that I have collected, I apply a filter to the scenery outside the frame and create a collage of the sky inside the frame in a light box. And...in the exhibition space, each individual's sky sparkles like a galaxy. Additionally, the scenery outside the filtered frame is not completely blacked out, and if you look closely you can see the delicate image. In other words, each sky and each landscape are connected by "Honmoku." The main theme of this project is ``drawing the sky together,'' but an important element is that people share photos one after another. Even now, many people are uploading photos every day.

Also, on the final day, December 10th, we will talk about the activities we have been doing in Honmoku so far, and we will also have a joint live performance. The person we invited was a musician named ``Magical Power Maco,'' who has been active since the early 1970s and has won the Italian International Broadcasting Award. I think it will be a perfect space to conclude my work at Honmoku Art Project.

−Finally, I hear that this “Honmoku Art Project 2017” is the culmination of your work so far. Please look back on your efforts since the first time and tell us your impressions and messages.

[Okazaki] We have been working on various projects at key points while receiving valuable opinions. Now, I feel that ``small but sustainable things'' are the essence of an art project.

Mr. Mase's "Sky Variations *cyrcle project" this time, Mr. Ishigami's "Give Me Chocolate!" However, it started with only a small number of people who agreed with the idea. From there, the number of participants gradually increased through word of mouth, and the event spread throughout the city. It's a program derived from an extremely minimalist place. On the other hand, large events may seem to have a great effect at the time, but in the long run, the effect is difficult to sustain. So we changed direction exactly on our third time and ended up with the current program. Although it may take some time to see the effects of regional revitalization, we have prepared programs that will leave a lasting impression on each individual. I hope that many people will enjoy it.

[Kasahara] Although we are not bringing Honmoku back to the present day as it once was, we believe that by communicating the appearance and atmosphere of those days, we can contribute to the development of a new town. If you look at the town, there are some issues such as inconvenience of access, but before that, I think it is important to make sure that everyone has a sense of pride in the town of Honmoku. Honmoku, where I spent my youth, was a truly ``cool adult town'' that was known for its music and dance. I would like to continue to spread the word about how cool it is.

[Okazaki] Indeed, yes. For example, Ichiro Fujinaka, the Hamachacha dancer I talked about at the beginning, just looks great (lol). Honmoku is also home to many such people.

[Kasahara] That's right (lol). That's why.

[Mase] I was invited as a resident program artist, and I plan to further expand my "Sky Variations *cyrcle project" in the future. As if there were no break in the sky, from Honmoku to Kannai, and then all over Yokohama...

Also, although I am based in Kyoto, the cities are connected like the sky. Therefore, if there are any issues, I think it would be possible to share information from Honmoku and Kyoto and come up with improvement measures. As Mr. Okazaki mentioned earlier, it may be a small thing when viewed individually, but it will eventually lead to large-scale regional revitalization. We hope that this project will lead to larger activities.

“Honmoku Art Project 2017” event overview

Date: October 11th (Wednesday) - December 10th (Sunday)
Venue: Yokohama/Honmoku area area
*Base space: HONMOKU ARES-2 (former Mycal Honmoku movie theater site)

▼Honmoku AIR/Takuto Mase (November 11th - December 10th)
▼Honmoku Night 2017 | [HONMOKU NITE Ichiro Fujinaka x Chartered Onuki] (December 9th)
▼ Natsuki Ishigami “From Honmoku to Asia. Give Me Chocolate! Report Session” (December 10th)
▼Partner project: Jack & Betty “Honmoku Movie Special” (December 9th and 10th)
▼Partner project: Satomi Uchiki “Children’s Disco Season 3” (December 9th)
access:
1 minute walk from the municipal bus “Wada Yamaguchi” stop
●From Yokohama Station East Exit Terminal...Platform 2, 8, 58 or Platform 3, 105
●From Sakuragicho Station Terminal…Platform 2 8, 58 system
●From JR Ishikawacho Station…Bus stop “Motomachi” bus stop 99, 101, 105, 106 routes
●From JR Negishi Station…Platform 1: 58, 99, 101 systems
●From Motomachi-Chukagai Station on the Minato Mirai Line...Bus stop "Yamashitacho" bus stop 8, 58, 148 lines

Bus time required:
●About 35 minutes from “Yokohama Station East Exit” to “Wadayama Exit”
●About 15 minutes from “Motomachi” and “Yamashitacho” to “Wada Yamaguchi”
●About 14 minutes from JR Negishi Station to Wadayamaguchi
(The time required is just a guide. It varies depending on road congestion.)

*Municipal bus: 220 yen for adults, 110 yen for children / One-day ticket: 600 yen for adults, 300 yen for children

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