Report Column | Ambient improvisation and children’s expression, a time full of numerous possibilities

Art classes that transcend barriers and are open to all

atelier A is an art class mainly for children with Down syndrome and autism that has been active in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo since 2003.I had been interested in outsider art for a long time, and I sometimes approached my activities with the mindset of a curator looking for artists. Over the years, I have come to pay more attention to how the freedom of expression of art activities, which lies apart from the evaluation of art works, can serve as a hub to connect people with and without disabilities and provide clues for mutual care.

The “Mark to the Music” music and meditation workshop, organized by Arts Initiative Tokyo with Jolien Posthumus from the Museum of Mind in the Netherlands, winner of the 2022 European Museum of the Year Award is one of the new initiatives that put such art activities into practice.

Art activities that bring people together

At the workshop on December 16, 2023, the winter light shining through the kamaboko barracks on the church grounds where the workshop was held, combined with the beauty of the improvised music by Hiroshi Takano and the other four musicians, made for a wonderful time, as Yorimasa Fujimura described it, “like heaven,” with divine light and sound surrounding all participants who were there. It was a wonderful time.
And as mentioned above, we were able to confirm once again that participatory and interactive art activities can be a catalyst for bringing people together.

When Jolien originally adapted the program designed for adults in the Netherlands into a program for children, there were many uncertainties that could only be understood through experience.

 However, the children who participated in the program immediately understood the subjects of “meditating” and “making a picture from sound,” and worked straight through each expression.

In the meditation part, they lay down and became contemplative with Jolien’s navigation. During the musical performance part, the children drew abstract pictures with dots and lines in time with the music, waved their brushes in rhythm, and painted with their hands and feet.

In addition, at the end of the workshop, as we usually do at atelier A, we had a presentation time to share and celebrate each piece of work with everyone.This created a sense of unity that transcended all differences, including disability, language and nationality.

I personally found it very interesting that the theme of the workshop”From Sound to Picture” led to the creation of a series of works with a witty sense of humor, such as a work that “pictured the instrument” by carefully sketching the cello played by Koryo Saito, and a work that “pictured the boogie woogie” from the music-themed TV drama series.

Some of them drew the Dutch flag in their works to appeal directly to Jolien, while others, perhaps sensing that Jolien was not familiar with the Japanese Comic “Kingdom” and presented their drawings as if they were poems: “A warrior in Chinese clothes appeared from the forest and a sea of blood spread….”etc.
It was very impressive to see the approach of the several children who understood the nationality and personality of Jolien, who was in charge of giving her impressions of the works, and contributed their expressions and presentations.

Regarding the question of whether there were any changes in the participants after the workshop, I do not think it is important to look for changes in the few hours of this workshop in the first place. However, for example, Yukari-san, who drew and presented the dolphins, clearly became more active in drawing and presenting her work compared to when she first joined atelier A.

It is very gratifying to see a change in someone like Yukari-san as she participates in our activities over a long period of time, and that the change is positive.

Ambient improvisation and children’s expression, time filled with numerous possibilities

Although the workshop program was offered to the children as a collaboration between the Netherlands and Japan, I had a strange feeling as if the adults had received a newer and more complex experience from the children.
This is because we had a wonderful time, filling all five senses, far exceeding our hopes and imaginations that we had imagined in the preparation stage of the workshop.The day’s program was full of possibilities to branch out and create many more programs by specializing not only in “meditating” and “drawing sounds,” but also in “listening to sounds,” “making sounds,” “feeling light,” “moving the body,” and so on.

A new challenge like “Mark to the Music” leads to the creation of something new and different beyond the imagination of the brain. This realization was the most rewarding part of this cooperative program.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Jolien, her interpreter Satoshi Ikeda, Rika Fujii, Naoko Horiuchi, and everyone at AIT, the staff of atelier A, the parents and children, Setagaya Catholic Church for the venue, the sponsors, the four musicians who took on this new challenge,Hiroshi Takano, Koryo Saito, Yorimasa Fujimura, and Tetsuro Yasunaga, who also coordinated the event. The improvisation of ambient music was so beautiful that it made me want to share it with many people.

Text: Tetsu Akaogi   Photo by Isamu Sakamoto