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- Convenor:
-
Shiu Hong Simon Tu
(The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Send message to Convenor
- Format:
- Panel
- Section:
- Urban, Regional and Environmental Studies
- Location:
- Lokaal 6.60
- Sessions:
- Sunday 20 August, -
Time zone: Europe/Brussels
Short Abstract:
This interdisciplinary panel focuses on the arts and architecture in the process of revitalizing Japan’s neo-rural. It addresses the different roles of artistic creation in negotiating local tradition, forging social connections, and reinventing imageries over the course of community revitalization.
Long Abstract:
In contrast to the conventional notion of urban-rural dichotomy, scholars in the twenty-first century are employing new concepts to capture the entangled relations between countryside, cities, and global networks. Neo-rural is one such concept, referring to a countryside where people’s social, cultural, and economic lives are intrinsically linked to major cities and beyond, yet retaining the images and values of being rural. In this vein, Japan’s neo-rural is further characterized by revitalization efforts in response to severe social and demographic decline. This interdisciplinary panel focuses on the arts in this context and addresses the different roles of artistic creation in negotiating local tradition, forging social connections, and reinventing imageries over the course of community revitalization. One paper focuses on the bridal curtains in Hokuriku region. Based on anthropological research, it discusses the meanings of their revitalization to family members connected over, yet separated by, a distance. The materiality of bridal curtains poses a counterpoint to the spatiality of architecture. Another paper in this panel draws data from multi-sited fieldwork to shed light on the social processes that have emerged in architectural interventions under the banners of community design and placemaking – labels that are ubiquitous in Japan’s narratives of revitalization. Two last papers examine the Setouchi Triennale, one of most notable Japanese examples of utilizing contemporary art in regional revitalization, from different perspectives. The first of the pair studies the artistic processes in this large-scale art festival and analyses the relations between communities on outlying islands and Japan’s contemporary art world mediated by young artists. From a perspective of tourism resources and social innovation, the second paper of the pair examines the interplay between endogenous, neo-endogenous, and exogenous factors that contribute to community success in revitalization. Through the lens of the arts and architecture, this panel reveals the dynamics of revitalization in Japan’s neo-rural today.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Sunday 20 August, 2023, -Lok Hang Hui (University College London)
Paper short abstract:
Based on ethnographic research conducted in North-western Japan, this paper explores how various stakeholders in a local shopping street revitalised bridal curtain, a personal possession invested with memories and emotions, and turned it into a cultural heritage valued by the whole community.
Paper long abstract:
Bridal curtain, or hanayome noren, is part of traditional wedding trousseau unique to some areas of the Hokuriku Region, North-western Japan. It has been registered as a national folk cultural property recently. Based on ethnographic research conducted in the Hokuriku Region, this paper traces the process of heritage formation of bridal curtain, an item used in traditional wedding ceremony. The most distinctive feature about the curtain is that it is supposed to be used once-in-a-life time. On the wedding day of the couple, the curtain is hung at the entrance of the butsudan room in the groom’s house where the bride passes under the curtain and greets the groom’s family ancestors in front of the Buddhist altar. The curtain is hung and shown at the butsudan room’s entrance for another week after the wedding ceremony is over. After that, the curtain is usually stored away in the closet. This paper explores how various stakeholders in a local shopping street revitalised bridal curtain, a personal possession invested with memories and emotions, and turned it into a cultural heritage valued by the whole community. Focusing on the changing forms of visual expression, this paper also illustrates how some latest tailor-made curtains act as a material presence of family members living far away and provide comfort to their owners.
Nancy Ji (Keio University Melbourne University)
Paper short abstract:
This paper examines the evolving role of architecture and community revitalization in contemporary Japan. Adopting 'machizukuri' as a key concept and process, the study examines case studies that show a rise in participatory design and collective approaches involving diverse actors.
Paper long abstract:
This paper examines the evolving role of architecture and community revitalization in contemporary Japan. Traditional revitalization efforts have included investing large amounts into public building projects such as the museum and resort boom in the 1980s which proved to be unsuccessful with the collapse of the bubble economy in the early 1990s. Since then, small to medium-scale approaches favouring participatory and socially engaged methods have emerged as promising alternatives. The study seeks to trace architectural developments aimed at community revitalization with a focus on those situated in shrinking and declining regions. Recently, art festivals amongst other initiatives have developed to address challenges such as shrinkage and depopulation in rural and peripheral areas. This study looks beyond purely art projects to architectural transformations of underutilised building stock through a new wave of renovation culture gaining popularity today. How are architects, artists, and other creatives transforming the built environment in their own way? Through the analysis of key case studies, the research presents findings gathered from multi-sited fieldwork based on both physical and virtual ethnographic methods including site visits and interviews. In addition to professionals, it is found that an increasing number of amateurs from diverse backgrounds are also actively engaging in self-build and Do-It-Yourself DIY methods to enhance their living environment.
Shiu Hong Simon Tu (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Paper short abstract:
Based on ethnographic research at the Setouchi Triennale in 2019, this paper examines the artistic processes carried out in island communities, and analyze how the interaction between artists, local communities, and environments yielded artistic results.
Paper long abstract:
While in the 1960s the Japanese art history saw the proliferation of avant-garde art practices in rural regions, in the twenty-first century many rural villages in Japan have again become the places where contemporary artists gather for their artistic endeavors. Distinct from the radicalism of their predecessors, however, these artists engage in art projects and festivals that intend to revitalize the severely depopulated regions. How do contemporary artists from the cities negotiate with the local communities and conditions in their artistic process? What does the experience of creating in rural art projects mean to their professional development? Although there is a growing number of research focusing on community revitalization and tourism resources in Japanese art projects, the engagement of artists is currently underrepresented in social science. Based on my ethnographic research at the Setouchi Triennale in 2019, this paper examines the artistic processes carried out in island communities, and analyze how the interaction between artists, local communities, and environments yielded artistic results. This paper also draws interview data from a group of emerging artists to illustrate the relation between rural art projects and the contemporary art world nowadays.
Meng Qu (Hokkaido University) Simona Zollet (Hiroshima University)
Paper short abstract:
The opportunities and resources brought by socially-engaged art festivals' exogenous initiatives can trigger endogenous community responses in terms of increased entrepreneurship and social innovation. The neo-endogenous processes support rural revitalisation and increase community resilience.
Paper long abstract:
The decline and socio-economic stagnation of rural communities is a growing concern across the world. To promote community resilience, art- and creativity-based strategies are emerging as important means for rural revitalisation. This study adopts a neo-endogenous development perspective to examine how socially engaged art can represent an effective tool for revitalising communities and strengthening their resilience. We examine the case of Japan’s Setouchi Triennale, an international art festival which aims at revitalising twelve small islands by promoting socially engaged art and festival tourism. This mixed methods research focuses on the three islands with the best revitalisation outcomes. The tourism opportunities and increased place recognition resulting from the exogenous art festival initiative triggered endogenous community responses in terms of increased entrepreneurship and social innovation, facilitating the emergence of neo-endogenous revitalisation processes. At the same time, different islands display different response mechanisms, which depend on the initial resources and features of each island. Exogenous, endogenous, and neo-endogenous elements are therefore all necessary to increase rural resilience. Successful neo-endogenous revitalisation through socially engaged art, however, requires long-term co-creation between exogenous art development and endogenous community activities.