The art project TERATOTERA was held in the area of Suginami, a part of Tokyo popular with young people and where many musicians and artists live and work. Along with organizing an exhibition in the city about social conditions like the invisible divisions and concepts of the public, it contributed to training and developing human resources by working with a team of volunteers. The key people behind TERATOTERA have since formed a new organization called Teraccollective to continue the work of the project.

Artists, who usually present their work in spaces like galleries and museums that are, in a sense, protected, here developed experimental forms of expression in the unpredictable space that is in and around the city: those literally extraordinary discoveries and growth felt, not only for the artists but also for us organizers, immeasurable. Tokyo Artpoint Project set up such a place for experimental artistic practices in public spaces. Evaluating the social values and significance obtained there is perhaps something that will happen over time in the future, but what I can say for sure is that the experiences gained at that experimental place were of immense value for the artists involved and us, and continue to influence our activities.
Ogawa Nozomu (Director, Art Center Ongoing)

In Yanaka, an area in Tokyo’s Taito ward with a distinct cultural character and where vestiges of the old Shitamachi part of Edo (Tokyo) remain visible even today, Yanaka-no-Okatte held the Guru Guru Ya→Mi→ project with the aim of building a base for different kinds of people to come together daily and create culture together. Launched originally in 2009 by Tokyo University of the Arts, members of the project then formed Yanaka-no-Okatte as a standalone legal body and evolved the project further, producing many more programs involving residents, students, and others from across generations and with different nationalities, customs, and values. Yanaka-no-Okatte continues to build on this experience and expand its activities, including developing play-centered learning programs for children and working to increase accessibility for cultural programs.

We were able to accomplish dynamic activities through the project we co-organized, achieving many connections with locals, artists, and supporters. Those connections and the experiences we gained through the project form the basis for our current activities. Having a partner able to accompany our experimental endeavors and attempts to build up a foundation for our activities was very reassuring for us as an organization that does art projects. I hope that Tokyo Artpoint Project evolves further as an opportunity for various organizations’ efforts and endeavors in the future, and that a rich array of cultural activities continue to emerge in Tokyo.
Watanabe Rieko (Director, Yanaka-no-Okatte)

In the Senju area of Adachi ward, Tokyo, which flourished as a post town in the Edo period and where traces of that old culture remain even in the highly developed city of today, OTOMACHI PROJECT co-organized Art Access Adachi: Downtown Senju – Connecting through Sound Art with the aim of creating new bonds through art in contemporary society, where such interpersonal connections have diminished. In partnership with Tokyo University of the Arts, which has a campus in Senju, Art Access Adachi encompassed a range of programs involving artists and residents, and a cultural salon inside an old Japanese house, in this way building various links with the community. OTOMACHI PROJECT continues to develop its cooperative relationship with Tokyo University of the Arts and Adachi ward, and organize many kinds of activities.

The project we organized with Tokyo Artpoint Project fostered our management skills. Not only for basic administrative know-how like writing up a proposal or accounting documents, and setting up meetings, they also advised us appropriately in a wide range of ways, including about engaging in dialogue with artists and residents, and publicity, and our organizational abilities greatly improved over the course of our partnership. This is due to the co-organizer system by which a program officer closely accompanies the project. The improvements to our administrative know-how enabled us to gain more social credibility and led to recent selections for more grants. I hope that Tokyo Artpoint Project continues to support small organizations like ours that are engaged in meaningful activities.
Yoshida Takeshi (Director, Art Access Adachi: Downtown Senju – Connecting through Sound Art)

Led by deaf and hard of hearing people,children of deaf adults (CODA), and other users of visual modality (specifically, Japanese Sign Language), ooo’s Metote Lab creates opportunities to communicate in partnership with those who experience or perceive the world differently. Examining the Deaf culture that has emerged from signing, and tracing its perspectives and language, the project researches and develops ways for people with diverse backgrounds to communicate based on a mutual acceptance of cultural differences.

For ooo, which focuses on affirming and healthily nurturing different perspectives, launching Metote Lab with Tokyo Artpoint Project as a co-organizer was incredibly significant. Having Tokyo Artpoint Project accompany and valorize our activities encouraged and allowed us to expand our efforts. We could produce various ways of coming into contact with others and of shaping the things you want to do. Several challenges remain regarding language and the culture that comes from that, but we found the versatile framework of working with Tokyo Artpoint Project as a partner very reassuring in that it enabled us to search for the solutions to those problems together, and also look for means of creating a structure for continuing our exploratory efforts.
Wada Natsumi (Director, ooo / Producer, Metote Lab)