On 14 May (Sat), a sound workshop “Listen to the world invisible” was held in collaboration with the certified NPO Kids Door and the dear Me Project.

The invited guest was artist Yoichi Kamimura, who creates artworks on the theme of sound. He visits Shiretoko in Hokkaido and other countries in Northern Europe to research the sounds of ice floes and nature, and makes field recordings while creating his work.

On the day of the event, 15 children from third grade to first grade of high school, with roots in various countries, took part.

The workshop introduced the freedom of thought in art and the artist’s ideas in a way that children could understand, in easy Japanese. After introducing how ice floes are formed and the environment with quizzes, it was time for sound collection and experimentation!

This time, thanks to the cooperation of Roland Corporation, the children went to the park one by one with binaural microphones and recorders in their hands, and it was impressive to see them collecting sounds of water, touching sand, playground equipment and trees, etc., each in their own way.

The binaural microphone is a special machine by Roland that combines an earphone and a microphone. You can hear 360° sound around you in three dimensions and record while listening to that sound. The sound of leaves shaking can be heard loudly, and the experience of unusual sounds can be expanded.

After returning from the park, the children poured soda water into a pot of dry ice and listened to the strange changing sounds through the underwater microphone, or listened to the sounds of ice floes recorded at Mr.Kamimura’s research sites or the songs of overseas indigenous people, and shared their impressions.

The sound of the creaking ice made them say, “It sounds like some kind of animal noise.”
“Like an elephant!” A fox?”
Various voices were raised.

Some of the children who wanted to listen to the sound recordings they made in the park played them for everyone to hear. They then told us what they had devised and what they had discovered.

The Kids Door staff, who are always there for the children, commented that the children’s potential was brought out by the fact that they were able to share time together in a free atmosphere and not in a ‘study’ mode.

AIT will continue to create opportunities for children and adults to discover new learning and expression through artistic expression through collaboration with artists, companies and children’s specialists.

A mini report on the day’s workshops and a collection of the sounds and voices of the children will be published in due course. Please look forward to it!

Organised by: NPO Arts Initiative Tokyo / dear Me
Cooperation: NPO KIDS DOOR
Grant: Kirin Welfare Foundation
Donation: Shiseido Camellia Fund
Equipment cooperation: Roland Corporation

Photo by Yukiko Koshima

dear Me’s interview series “Children’s Me and Adults’ Me” has begun!
This is a project in which we ask adults who are active in various fields, such as artists and artists of expression, about episodes from their childhood. We introduce how they came to terms with society, how they chose their current occupation, and how they would like to relate to children as adults in the future, and explore hints on how to relate to society in their own way.

The first interview is with writer Erika Kobayashi. Just as there are children of all colours, there are also many different ways of life and ways of being of the adults who support society. We asked Erika Kobayashi about her childhood and her thoughts on the future as an adult.

dear Me! ART ROOM

We made a web page for the dear Me ART ROOM ｜みんなでつくる、アートルーム where children can find unique art activities to do indoors.

We still live in uncertain times. Our primary and junior high schools are closed or have moved outdoors. But while our daily life is still limited, the situation seems to relax gradually.

The web page showcases picture books full of wonders and ideas for artworks that can be made using materials around you, with a help from Japanese and international artists and designers. In addition there is a selection of activities picked by our staff that hints at how we could play with art from various museums and other online platforms.

We offer a variety of activities ranging from simple play to projects that require time to think and make actual pieces.  The program can be enjoyed together. It can be great for both adults and children to enjoy together, while spending time indoors.

Ideas for how to use art for play will be updated continuously. Let’s have a fun!

▷dear Me ART ROOM ｜みんなでつくる、アートルーム