Creativity is what identifies us as human beings. To be alive means to engage in creative activity, and although we tend to think of it differently, even politics and economics are forms of creative work. In this framework, art is the most autonomous and primordial practice. A possible alternative expression for "creativity" would be "sensitivity", as the power to utilize our senses to grasp and enjoy things is at once a creative force.
In great cities, the various forms of creativity meet and swirl, and it would certainly be fair to say that creativity of all sorts is sprouting in Metropolitan Tokyo. Tokyo Wonder Site (TWS) aims to be a place for continuous dialogue and exchange of various unique views and values. Although the world has certainly become much smaller than it used to be, there is still a lack of true dialogue. TWS, as an alternatively operating base, has implemented the Creator-in-Residence program in order to evolve into a center for the arts where true dialogue can take place.
Yusaku Imamura
Director, Tokyo Wonder Site
Counselor on Special Issues to the Governor, Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Since its opening in 2001 as a new platform for art in Tokyo, Tokyo Wonder Site (TWS) has been functioning as a gateway for young Japanese artists in coalition with the Tokyo government-hosted "Tokyo Wonder Wall" exhibition. With a variety of exhibitions by internationally active artists, events introducing contemporary classical music, collaboration projects with traditional arts and crafts, artist residencies, and even club nights with/for artists and art fans, TWS has been covering a lot of ground. The opening of TWS Shibuya as the second stronghold in 2005 was a further significant step toward the envisioned establishment of an international network platform, as it marked the start of a series of affiliated projects with alternative spaces and cultural institutions overseas to introduce the border-crossing activities of foreign and Japanese artists. At the same time, with the newly opened " TWS art cafeŽ kurage" (=cafeŽ + gallery space) and "slowpink" art market, TWS has set up two new gathering spots to provide visitors to the Shibuya area with opportunities to get in closer touch with art, and purchase artworks and goods in a casual manner. In 2006, TWS Aoyama Creator-in-Residence was launched at the former Institute for Advanced Studies of the United Nations University in Aoyama. In this central Tokyo district where many creative people gather, the new facility functions as a base for internationally oriented creative work for young artists from fields ranging from art and design to music and others, in concert with the stimulating environment of the Aoyama neighborhood. Along with the nearby TWS Shibuya, TWS Aoyama will become a center for art, and at once an international platform for true dialogue and exchange in the heart of Tokyo, offering artists space to reside, research, produce and exhibit works.
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- Support, nurture and promote emerging artists from Tokyo.
- Establish a platform in Tokyo to function as a hub for art and culture in Asia and the world.
- Support diverse activities of art and culture in Tokyo as vehicles of the city's vital energy.
- Function as place for pilot programs, experimental and research projects for new strategic culture policy of Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
- Foster human resources engaged in cultural practices.
Tokyo Wonder Site (TWS) is operating as a laboratory and think tank for experimenting with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's cultural policy, which shifted its emphasis in 2001 from a culture development plan aiming to make art and culture better accessible to citizens, to the support of creation and promotion of art and culture. In the process of determining the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's cultural policy, the promotion of creative work has become a central issue. For one year starting in February 2004, a committee headed by the former president of Shiseido and director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Yoshiharu Fukuhara, has been discussing ways to clarify the problem of lacking creative bases in the city. Developed based on the results were the "Tokyo Metropolitan Government Guidelines for Culture Development", which defined the creation and promotion of art and culture from Tokyo as a political measure. Eager to serve as a platform for art in Tokyo, TWS is going to carry out various pilot projects, the results of which are to be reflected in the cultural policy of the Tokyo government.
