Director's note

Having spent my childhood moving from city to city and living several countries crossing oceans and borders for my study, these have become my  fundamental questions: 

How people from various backgrounds can meet each other and live together harmoniously? What would be a productive way for a culture to encounter another?  

Everyone has a unique background, a part of which may be shared with some others, another part of which may not. Cultural encounter can produce a tension, friction or conflict between people, if it happens in a negative way; however, if it does in a peaceful, positive and productive way, it will be a great source of a creative force. I believe that diversity is richness for both individuals and societies.  

Through cooperating with artists, creators and scholars who share this idea, I would like to open up a space where we can experience, discuss, and exchange ideas to pursue possibilities of our coexistence. I hope this foundation will function as a platform for these creative forces and contribute to the realization of a more inclusive society. 

Marie Yasunaga    

The Shape of the War - In Memory of the Silent Histories Artist Talk by Kazuma Obara 

Bushuis/Oost-Indisch Huis, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 12 Nov. 2018.

More information of the artist: Kazuma Obara (fotojournalist) 

Invisible Voices from the Past to the Present: Fukushima, Osaka, and Chernobyl in the photography of Kazuma Obara (Onzichtbare Stemmen Uit Het Verleden In Het Heden: Fukushima, Osaka en Tsjesrnobyl gefotografeerd door Kazuma Obara),  lecture by  photojournalist Kazuma Obara, winner World Press Photo 2016, Het Nutshuis, The Hague, The Netherlands, 20 Apr. 2016.

More information of the artist: Kazuma Obara (fotojournalist) 

Limits of Polyphonic Representations: Trajectory of/Perspective from the Exhibition “Self and Other: Portraits from Asia and Europe (UTCP lecture) with guest speaker prof. Kenji Yoshida, University of Tokyo Center for Philosophy, Tokyo, Japan, 24 Feb. 2010.