People in the News

Rice Plus President
Emiko Kato

July 2003

Developing an Alternative Newspaper by and for the People

Emiko Katoi
Rice Puls
http://www.riceplus.org

Bringing Art and Communities Together

The area of Mukojima in Tokyo's Sumida Ward is known for having a large number of abandoned bicycles along the streets and sidewalks. The Mukojima Bicycle Art and Net Project, an event conceived as a way of turning this negative image into a positive one, aimed to beautify this part of the shitamachi�\Tokyo's "lower city" ( old quarter) along the Sumida River�\y linking bicycles and art.

The first step was coming up with a plan that would bring art into the area and also be enjoyable for men and women of all ages. What caught Emiko Kato's eye was the bicycle, an indispensable part of everyday life in Mukojima. She thought that if the abandoned bicycles were made into art, their number would dwindle as people developed an attachment to them by seeing them from a different perspective. Kato did not intend to tackle the bicycles as an environmental problem, but rather to provide individuals with an opportunity to rethink their values. She says, "While having the awareness to take care of things we like is a small matter, it represents a first step in enriching our hearts."

Life Slice Laboratory, one of the participating groups, created a bicycle with a camera attached that automatically takes a picture every minute. When the camera-bikes are rented to people who come to view the art project, these lenses discover things that generally go unnoticed in everyday life, and the rider can receive the photographs as a memento.

Another project was that of the art group Kosuge 1-16. Houses in Mukojima are packed quite closely together, and many residents enjoy gardening, growing plants all the way up to the street. Kosuge 1-16 came up with the idea of planting flowers in bicycle baskets, creating a sort of "road garden." The Bicycle Art and Net Project, which lasted from June 20 to July 6, included a number of other events. Bicycle lovers came from all over Japan to take part, making the project a great success.

Bringing Art and People Together
Kato has created a number of projects in the past that seek to link art with the area of Mukojima, and she explains her motivation: "Art is something that is very near to me, but for ordinary people it is less so. I want to close the gap between art and society and give more people chances to understand art." In the fall of 2002 Kato opened Rice Plus, a sort of "artist information center," by renovating an old rice shop in Kyojima. The cafe area on the first floor is used for exhibitions and as a workshop. It provides a space for artists to mingle with the outside world. The second floor of the building houses the foreign artists taking part in the "Artist in Residence" program that Kato has held four times a year for three years now. These creators come for two or three months at a time to learn about Japanese culture and lifestyles through the charm of the shitamachi area.

The rapid graying of Japanese society has hit Mukojima hard, resulting in an increasing number of empty houses as elderly residents leave or pass away. But Mukojima is home to many residents eager to spruce up their community, and it has proved attractive to young people seeking a new place to live. Artists see great appeal in having plenty of space and being able to renovate their own house, and in recent years a number of professional designers and university students studying art and construction have moved into the neighborhood. Because there are many children in Mukojima, Kato is working to create children's workshops and other forums where they can interact with the artists from Japan and abroad.

"When art is presented to the public, various people have different key roles to play. I want to be involved in producing artistic projects," says Kato, who attended City University, London, where she studied art policy and art management and obtained a license as a museum curator. As a research student she went to the University of London's Courtauld Institute of Art, where she majored in postwar British art history. At present she is active as an independent curator and an art journalist. And as an instructor at Musashino Art University, she is involved in the training of students in art management; these students will in the future plan and organize art projects of their own.

Later this year there will be a project in Okinawa to link town and art together. In November 2002 a local art group called Wanakio began working with an architect with the goal of turning the streets of Naha into a stage. New art projects are being devised, such as turning whole neighborhoods and even the newly built monorail into "street museums" and bringing modern art into the local marketplace, which has declined in recent years. Thanks to Kato's efforts, projects to bring art and communities together are taking place all over Japan.

Contact information:
Rice Plus
Phone: 03-3617-3982
E-mail:info@riceplus.org