AIR Bridge 2021

ARCUS held an artist residency through a new partnership with Daigo in Ibaraki Prefecture, inviting one artist to spend twenty-nine days in the town. Building on the experience and accomplishments ARCUS has accumulated to date, the program aimed to share approaches and tasks related to planning, implementation, and supporting artists, and to uncover the appeals and resources of Daigo by holding an artist residency. The venue for the residency was Daigo Artist in Residence (DAIR).

At first, ARCUS held discussions with the town about candidates for the residency. The selected participant was Kano Tetsuro, who has experience at residencies both in and outside Japan, and whose work explores his interest in hunting. Kano stayed at DAIR for two periods of, respectively, nine and twenty days between September and November. He conducted research and artistic work related to the large traps used to hunt wild boar, the high-quality wood yamizozai, and old routes in the area. At the end of his residency, he held an open studio event and explained to visitors about the initial work he showed as well as the process of his research and the knowledge he had gained.

During the residency in Daigo, a three-way teach-in was organized with the artist, the town, and ARCUS. Each participant shared their experiences of residencies and proposed advice for developing Daigo’s AIR program further. As a wrap-up event, a presentation was held at ARCUS. Attended by representatives from local government and people interested in artist residencies, it provided an overview of AIR Bridge 2021 and an opportunity for attendees to share their opinions about its results.

Tetsuro Kano was born in 1980. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Environmental Design/City Environmental at Tokyo Zokei University (2005), and a master’s degree from the Fine Art at Tokyo Zokei University (2007). His recent solo exhibitions include Naturplan (Bloomberg Pavilion Project Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, 2011), Clear signs, Vivid tones (HARA MUSEUM ARC, Gunma, 2012), Abstract maps, Concrete territories (Moerenuma Park, Sapporo, 2013) and Nature / Ideals, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo (2015). His recent group exhibitions include Breathing Atolls: Japan-Maldives Contemporary Art Exhibition (National Art Gallery, Sultan Park, 2012), To Wander a Garden (Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum, Shizuoka, 2012), In Search of Critical Imagination (Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, 2014), and Between Botany and Art (Aichi Prefecture Museum, 2015).