Participating Creators

 
■Dispatching Creators

Stockholm:Yuri Suzuki (From November 2010 to January 2011)

Basel:Taro Shinoda (From January to March 2011)

Barcelona:Takahiro Yamaguchi (From October to December 2010)

Taipei:Masaru Iwai (From August to November 2010)

There were many applicants with insufficient language skills in each program and the language issue should be taken into more serious consideration. Also many applications lacked the persuasiveness on inevitabilities of participating in the residence program. I hope for stronger objectives and concepts in the future.

Basel
As this is the first exchange program with the partner site, preferences were set to applicants with great communication skills and potentials to build relationships with the local society.

Barcelona
As the host residence provides a substantial environment for creators' activities in media fields, emerging creators with much potential future growth in media arts were taken into account. 

Stockholm
Because the partner's policies for residence program seemed to have slightly changed, we selected determined creators with a clear concept and an excellent language ability whose process would not fluctuate in such an environment.

Taipei
As well as considering language ability, creators whose activities would reflect cultural identities in Taipei, were preferred.

Second Screening (Interview)

The lack of the language ability was a noticeable problem among many of the applicants.  More than half of interviewees, the juries decided, would not be capable of participating in the residency program with firm creative motivation with their language skills.  A legible candidate for resident programs from TWS should not be going abroad for the first time, but be capable of leading an independent life and communicating well in order to improve creative skills and undertake indigenous researches in the partner city. Therefore, it is inevitable for the creators to have great language skills to at least explain their purpose of residency and projects without any difficulty.

Stockholm
Despite of generation difference, the two finalists both had outstanding creativities as well as excellent language and communication skills. The candidate was selected after considerations of  the characteristics of the project and its specific reason to be undertaken this year in Stockholm.

Basel
Half of the interviewees lacked of the required language abilities and experiences of living abroad. Because the host foundation subsidized not only for art & culture but also for natural science, the other finalist for  Stockholm residence program was selected to be the successful candidate for this position.

Barcelona
Although all nominated creators wished to undertake projects dealing with languages, two out of three of them did not meet the language requirement. We sent both applications from a 25 year-old candidate, who hopes to actualize his ongoing project in Barcelona related to urbanism, and a 34 year-old candidate, who has been researching on the act of washing and cleaning to investigate on the cultural differences of consciousness for cleanliness, to the host organization. Both creators could be a successful candidate for this position; however, as Barcelona has the ideal site for media-based projects, perhaps the applications with media-based project proposals should have been taken more into account.

Taipei
Because the specialty of the residential location as it was previously a squat area, I expected interviewees showing project plans directly linked to its background; however, unfortunately, one of two interviewees lacked the language ability and the presentation did not give  any outstanding impression. Another interviewee, who has been living in Beijing last 3 years (he can speak Chinese), grew up in Ryukyu cultural area from where he has led him to Taiwan via Chinese mainland to experience Taiwanese spells, rituals and aborigines; the realization of his research was very intriguing.

(Mami Kataoka, Chief Curator at Mori Art Museum)

Design

Stockholm
Yuri Suzuki was selected as the  creator for Exchange Residency Program at IASPIS in Stockholm, 2010. Mr. Suzuki has been actively developing his artistic career in many nations after receiving MA in Design Products from Royal College of Art, U.K. He was nominated in Interactive Art and Digital Music & Sound Art categories for The Prix Ars Electronica. His design and workshop works engaging people and society have been highly recognized in the manner of proposals based on active researches in relation to projects through living experience abroad and understandings of cultural backgrounds in different countries. His unique methods of transcending the frameworks between design and arts could not be more ideal for the residency program at IASPIS that shows strong interests in arts, design and architect fields. .As his project proposal focuses on "Midwinter time in Scandinavia" it is exciting to see how the communication with the locals leads to his project at the end. as the result of We look forward to seeing an excellent following Kotaro Watanabe (takram) who had a successful residency program last year.

(Noriko Kawakami, Associate Director at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT)

■Inviting Creators

Barcelona:Daniel Jacoby (From October to December 2010)

Mexico:Hugo Solis Garsia (From January to March 2011)     

Jury's Review

Barcelona

Visual Art

Some of the common features among the six nominees were: works were mostly media based, the humorous and ironic elements in their pieces and the reflection on little phenomena and trivial events in everyday life; perhaps this is the result of the nominators' interests and personal opinions.  Thus the selection seemed to be lacking a sense of diversity.
The selected artist, Daniel Jacoby, while still having the humorous factors, has a greater depth than other candidates in terms of his artistic techniques such as collage and assemblage in such contemporary manners to dislocate and deconstruct sound, image and performance and reconstruct these parts on a certain basis.

(Mami Kataoka, Chief Curator at Mori Art Museum)

Performing Art

Daniel Jacolby, mentioned under ③, has an unique voice on media, expressed through disassembling and reassembling found texts, music and moving images.  It is just excited to imagine what could come out from him using materials from Japan, or from collaborating with a Japanese artist.  Jasmina Leobet, also uses everyday objects for installations, which visually are striking, but there was a lack of persuasion for her needs to participate in this residence program.

(Chiaki Soma, Program Director at Arts Network Japan Inc.)

Mexico

Music

Orozco had the most potential as an orthodox composer composer among the shortlisted candidates.However, Gracia appeared to be more suitable composer for the program based on his purpose of the residency and possibilities of bringing the cultural exchange, regardless of the fact that he is not a traditional composer.  I am interested to see how his overall idea will develop in Tokyo during the residency.

(Joji Yuasa, Composer)