Friday, July 24th, 2009
“Uganda AIDS Orphans Meet Artist” Symposium a Big Hit
“Uganda AIDS Orphans meet Artist” Symposium” Report
Symposium “Uganda AIDS Orphans meet Artist” featuring Japanese modern artist Tatsuo Miyajima and scriptwriter Kundo Koyama was underway at the National Art Center, Tokyo in Roppongi on July 11, 2009.
In the first half of the symposium, Miyajima and TDLC staffer Shunsuke Ishida gave a briefing on the “Uganda AIDS Orphans Meets Artist” program, from its conception last November through the Uganda workshop earlier this year, as collaborators joined in with their comments.
ASHINAGA Uganda’s Yasuhiro Sato, who cares for AIDS orphans in the Uganda, participated via video connection. He said the Ugandan children really enjoyed the workshop. “ It was a big day for them. They kept asking; ‘when is the next one?’”
Students from Tohoku University of Art and Design (TUAD) and Kyoto University of Art and Design (KUAD), were active in workshop planning and design. “(Prior to the workshop,) I hadn’t particularly thought about Uganda. I just figured this was a chance to join the renowned artist Miyajima in his workshop. I had no idea I’d be getting involved in actually planning the workshop,” said KUAD student Tomita.
In the latter half of the event, a panel discussion addressed the potential role of art and design in global issues. Speakers were Kundo Koyama, screenwriter for the motion picture “Departures,” Miyako Maekita, known for her ecology-conscious activities, and World Bank Tokyo Office spokesman Koichi Omori. Koyama and Maekita used their past work to explain how they have achieved results through design.
Ideas were exchanged to adapt the Uganda workshop art, which used sheet material and human silhouette-tracing methods. “The sheets and paint could be sold as kits, then the painted sheets made into bags with help from a bag company,” Koyama suggested.
The lively symposium wrapped up on a positive note as outside the venue, the display of artwork created by Ugandan and Japanese children swayed in the sunlight pouring in through the windows.
