Networking
“FUTURE SKETCH Tokyo Conference” and
“International Visitors Program”

The Tokyo Culture Creation Project has decided to designate the 11 days between October 20th and 30th of this year as “TOKYO CREATIVE WEEK” in order to strengthen promotion of “Tokyo as a city of global cultural creativity.” During this period, opportunities for experiencing the diverse culture of Tokyo are intensively offered.

We organize “International Visitors Program” during the period and invite young and perceptive professionals such as directors, curators, critics and journalists from around the world. In addition to providing a place for networking with those with similar interests, the purpose of the program is to have the participants observe the current state of culture in Tokyo including the activities of the Tokyo Culture Creation Project and disseminate what they will have observed and their assessment of it in their countries.

Some of the participants will also take part in the “FUTURE SKETCH Tokyo Conference.” The aim of the conference is to explore the significance and roles of the arts and culture in Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake, reflect on possibility of drawing the future through culture, and to propose a new model of creative society development. This program goes directly in line with this year’s theme of the Tokyo Culture Creation Project: “TOKYO FUTURE SKETCH—Draw the future with the power of our culture.”

Furthermore, the drawings of the future in “FUTURE SKETCH BOOK,” a project supervised by the artist Katsuhiko Hibino in which people gathering in Tokyo draw the future under the theme, will also be incorporated in this conference.

Dates and venues:

• Starts at 14:00 on October 28th (Fri), 2011 [JFIC Hall “SAKURA,” The Japan Foundation] (Number of seats: 100)
• Starts at 13:30 on October 29th (Sat), 2011 [Akihabara Convention Hall] (Number of seats: 250)

*Information on registration for participation in the conferences is here.
*Please note that the contents may change or be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
*Updated information will be provided on the website.

FUTURE SKETCH Tokyo Conference    See here for the profiles of the speakers

International Visitors Program

Period:

October 22nd (Sat) – 30th (Sun), 2011

Participants:

A total of about a dozen people including arts professionals, critics, journalists, directors/curators of international festivals, etc.

Participating countries:

South Korea, China, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Austria, the U.S.

International Visitors Program    See here for the profiles of the participants

Organized by

Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Culture Creation Project Office (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture)

Supported by

The Japan Foundation

Theme 1: [For New Society Designing and for Making New linkages]

Moderated by a journalist Daisuke Tsuda, who has actively been speaking on the roles of social media in the society, young panelists discuss focusing on the social networking systems, which were capable as information media in the middle of the disorder immediately after the earthquake and drew considerable attention, making reference to examples in other countries and hearing from artists.

Gina Scandrett, one of the founders of “UC Student Volunteer Army” in which Tsuda has been interested as an example of social action by young people in reaction to an earthquake, makes a keynote address introducing their activities. “UC Student Volunteer Army” was started by students of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch when the earthquake struck New Zealand. It gathered volunteers through facebook, cleared mud and debris, and expanded its activities.

Following the keynote address by Gina Scandrett, international guests and Japanese young artists discuss the potential social impact of young people’s actions after an earthquake and the possibility of individual actions to make new linkages and to develop themselves into regional movements.

Outline

Schedule

Theme 2: [Power of Culture After 3.11]

A discussion on how to draw the society to come and the future as well as the roles of the arts and culture in the process of recovering from the 3/11 earthquake disaster and nuclear accident, based on what will have been discussed in “For New Society Designing and for Making New linkages” on October 28th.

Keynote addresses are made by Tessa Morris-Suzuki, who specializes in Japanese modern history, on Japan since the Great East Japan Earthquake seen from the outside, and Marco Kusumawijaya, who has been working on a movement for sharing knowledge and know-how with citizens to improve the urban environment of Jakarta, on four themes—culture, disaster, future and metropolis—based on his experience of involvement in recovery from disaster, research residency in Los Angeles and Tokyo, and participation in a workshop by the International Resource Panel of the United Nations Environment Programme.

In the panel discussion, Japanese and international guest speakers reexamine the meaning and power of the arts and culture in the various difficulties since the earthquake disaster, explore new types of society and the future, and propose a new model of creative society development.

Outline

Schedule

Registration   *It ended.

Participation Fee

Free

Deadline

October 20th

Registration

By E-mail or FAX (Accepted by lot if the applications exceed the venue’s capacity)

One registration for up to two persons. Specify the necessary items (1. zip code and postal address; 2. name; 3. TEL, FAX or E-mail; 4. date[s] of participation; and 5. number of participants), write “To Secretariat for Tokyo International Conference” in the subject column or the header and send to sketch@c-linkage.co.jp (E-mail) or +81-3-3263-8693 (FAX). *Items 1-3: of the registrant

*In case of lot, the result will be notified by around October 21 by Email or FAX.
*Following the notification, participation pass[es] will be sent to the registrant. Please make sure that you bring the pass on the day of the event.
*Registration can be done only once for each event per person.

During the “TOKYO CREATIVE WEEK,” young and perceptive professionals working in the fields of the arts and culture will be invited from around the world. The participants of the International Visitors Program directly experience the programs of the Tokyo Culture Creation Project, come in contact with the dynamic creative activities in Tokyo, observe various cultural projects and metropolitan cultural facilities, and exchange with players in the related sectors.

The current culture in Tokyo through the eyes of young professionals will be disseminated to specialists’ networks and media in their countries and regions. The exchange will contribute to network building beyond national and regional borders as well. Some of the participants of this program will join the “FUTURE SKETCH Tokyo Conference” too.

Outline

Period:

October 22nd (Sat) – 30 (Sun), 2011

Participants:

A total of about a dozen young individuals who have an extensive interest in art and are capable of dissemination including arts professionals, critics, journalists, writers, directors/curators of international festivals, etc.

Participating countries:

South Korea, China, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Austria, the U.S. (tentative)

Secretariat for Tokyo International Conference

3rd floor, Sanbancho KS bldg., Sanbancho 2,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075
E-mail: sketch@c-linkage.co.jp
Tel: +81-3-3263-8695 (9:30 – 18:00 on weekdays)
Fax: +81-3-3263-8693