Artist in Residence Fellowship Program 2024 – Akiyoshidai International Art Village

Artist in Residence Fellowship Program 2024AiR

Fellowship Program 2024

“The AIAV Fellowship” is open to domestic and international artists working in various creative fields. The aim of the program is to support artists’ activities and to offer the local people in Yamaguchi pref. opportunities to appreciate arts and communicate with artists crossing the borders of art disciplines and nationalities. During the residency period, artists should actively communicate with local people in Yamaguchi and participate in the exchange programs, including workshops, lectures, school visits and exhibitions.

Resident Artists

Oikawa Wataru (Japan / Wearable Art)

Residency Period:May 1 – June 1, 2024

My name is Oikawa Wataru ,28 years old. Half Japanese and half Nepalese born and raised in Nepal. I grew up in multi cultured family and understand the important of culture exchange and am pioneer for bring Japanese anime, cosplay in Nepal.My artworks are themed on wearable art based on local folklore, mythology. Audience participation as a whole is my artistic process so the audience are free to participant and wear the artwork, take photos, be in character. There is constant interaction between the artwork, artist and the audience. I love to see people smile, enjoy, bring their inner child out, and the fact that I can do that with my artwork gives me utmost joy and privilege. Introducing local community about folklore and mythology in an artistic way through participation and interaction with the artwork.

https://www.instagram.com/majinstudioz/

Julia Forrest (America / Photography)

Residency Period:January 7 – Febrary 7, 2025

A woman presents herself within the landscape. She turns a mirror towards the viewer, breaking up the solid environment. She interacts with the landscape she wanders in, blending into the background, changing with scale, or holding a part of the landscape itself. The whole image becomes a pictorial illusion and as the photographer, I am in complete control of the composition.
Using a medium format film camera and no digital manipulation, I create an illusion within the lens. I am inspired by 1890’s Pictoralist photographers and how they create a purely photographic reality in their images. Shooting in black and white, I make a historical reference to this period. I use Infrared film to emphasize the grain and to create a more surreal and distant reality. I challenge the notion of the landscape by referencing what makes a photograph: the women use their mirror to re-frame what I have framed and capture in their mirror like a camera captures in the lens.

https://www.juliaforrest.com/

Frank Tang (Hong Kong / Visual Arts,sound Art)

Residency Period:Febrary 1 – March 2, 2025

Multi-media artist Frank Tang has used a range of technologies and platforms in his projects, including ink painting, video, sound and collaborative performance; yet his work is always informed by his interest and training in Chinese shanshui (landscape) painting. Tang’s practice is marked by his explorations into ways of integrating not only the traditional aesthetic language, but also the experiential and philosophical concerns of shanshui art into contemporary idioms. Through studying on the form of mapping in these years, his works focus on geo-politics, social-cultural landscapes and artistic interpretation of topographical reality. Especially, he extends his mapping on the cityscape, heritages and parks , for example “Impression Mapping series”, “Pocket Park series”, and “Our Audible City series”. These works show colonisation, urbanisation, and also to state domination and resistance concerning specific historical events.

https://tangkaiyiu.com/

Leung Mee Ping (Hong Kong,Japan / Community arts,traditional craft research/Community art,Installation,Interdisciplinary art)

Residency Period:Febrary 12 – March 13, 2025

LEUNG Mee-ping, a Hong Kong and Tokyo based artist. My works through a research-based practice progressing to experimental interaction, which integrates elements and platforms, not limited to specific venues. In order to extend performance or action; those can be read as issue-based creativity. My works concern the ethic, community and memories of the human living situation which closely intertwine with my ongoing research in to visual culture, anthropology and globalization. Meanwhile, I often find myself interested in normal daily objects and issues as they provide me a path towards imagination, where I can play, touch, switch places and have thinking. I am not sure whether “explore” is the right word for my experience on art. Although it is a widely used word in artist statement, I believe that the motif of my creation is more on the extension of curiosity or the result on serious care.

https://www.lmp.hk/

Organizer: Akiyoshidai International Art Village
Support: Yamaguchi Prefecture, Yamaguchi Board of Education, Mine City, Mine City Board of Education, Cultural Association of Yamaguchi Prefecture