The Japanese idiom taigan no kaji (lit. “a fire on the other side of the river”) suggests an issue is someone else’s problem. It refers back to the fact that disasters can be isolated by rivers, seas, and mountain peaks. No matter how much we try to connect through concepts of country and sovereignty, it is the terrain that truly separates and shapes our lives and our awareness of who we are. At the same time, media allows us to empathize with the circumstances of others over long distances and contemplate our own lives. This kind of imagination may be the only thing that can transcend such physical separation.
The “Manifesto of Rural Futurism,” proposed by Italian curator Leandro Pisano, reimagines the urban-centric structure of economy, culture, and politics as well as the marginalization of rural areas as places on the periphery. The Aomori Contemporary Art Centre’s Energies in the Rural (EIR) project has explored this idea with curators and artists in Aomori and Southern Italy. As we share the ways in which creative individuals perceive and interpret the world, we will continue to consider how we can unearth energy from the landscape and what steps we can take to learn these methods.
One common aspect shared by the places people inhabit is that the natural environment can serve as both barrier and connection, providing subsistence and a sanctuary for human activity. That is one reason why specific characteristics inherent to a place can link to universal questions when we think about particular regions. With fresh perspectives, each encounter with a place becomes an opportunity to uncover new values, drawing insights from even the most distant destinations.
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Curators: Leandro Pisano, Shikata Yukiko, MURAKAMI Aya (ACAC)
Organized by Aomori Contemporary Art Centre, Aomori Public University and Interzona Cultural Association–APS / Liminaria
Supported by: The Agency for Cultural A¬airs Government of Japan, Fiscal year 2023
In Cooperation with: Pollinaria and MEdA–Ethnographic Museum of Aquilonia “Beniamino Tartaglia”, Marosi festival, Collettivo Zero, Tramandars Association,
AIRS (Artist in Residence Supporters), Art Club of Aomori Public University.
Nominal Support: NHK Aomori Broadcasting Station, Aomori Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd., RAB (Radio Aimori Broadcasting) Co., Ltd.,
Asahi Broadcasting Aomori Co., Ltd., Aomori Cable Television, Aomori Fm Broadcasting, ABH (Aomori Bunka Housou), BeFM,
The To-o Nippo Press Co., MUTUSINPOU co., ltd., The Dairy-Tohoku Shimbun Inc., Italian Cultural Institute of Tokyo
curators: Leandro Pisano, Shikata Yukiko, MURAKAMI Aya (ACAC)