Watching and being watched

We are pleased to announce the performance Watching and being watched by Hannie van den Bergh and Jan van den Berg on June 24 (Sat) and 25 (Sun), as a result of their artist in residency at Studio Kura. For this special occasion the noh performer Toshikazu Marumachi (from Hiroshima) will perform with them.

Origami and science – collaboration with Kumamoto University

What can be the role of arts and design in this era of big changes in both society and science? How can we use traditional techniques to develop state of the art scientific research and bottom up initiatives? Studio HB is a design and research lab, working in the field for many years. Senri Nojima, artist and professor at the Kumamoto University, invited Hannie van den Bergh from Studio HB to talk about her working method and give the students of the University the opportunity to discuss about a broader approach to the role of arts and design.

ARITA 2016/

Celebrating the 400th Anniversary of Arita Porcelain

In 2016, it will be four hundred years ago that an exceptional type of white clay was discovered in the mountains around the city of Arita. That clay became the raw material for the famous Arita porcelain. The porcelain acquired world fame when Dutch merchants began exporting it from their trading post on Dejima during course of the 17th century. The refined pottery, or ‘Imari porcelain’, as it is known in Europe, was of an extremely high quality and very much in demand. Moreover, it inspired the Dutch to develop a tradition of porcelain all their own.

The Reconstruction of Deshima

Deshima Heritage

Deshima, or ‘Dejima’ in modern Japanese, was a fan-shaped little island lying in the harbour of Nagasaki. Not much bigger than De Dam, Amsterdam’s central square, Deshima functioned as the Dutch trading post in Japan from 1641 to 1859. The Dutch lived there under strict prohibitions. Only very rarely were they allowed to leave the island, such as for instance travelling to Edo (now Tokyo) once a year for an audience with the shogun.

MONO JAPAN – Japanese Craft & Design

An artistic and cultural experience and a meeting place for cultures all in one

MONO JAPAN is a fair and a cultural event with inspiring lectures and workshops, in one welcoming businesses and general audience alike. MONO JAPAN offers a stage to acclaimed masters of traditional practices and the new generation of ambitious and enthusiastic creators.

GLOBAL TRADEWIND ORGANISATION

Reopening of trade route to Kyushu with emission-free shipping

400 years after the first Dutch traders went to the Far East, The Global Tradewind Organisation is preparing a voyage around the globe, from Europe to Asia. Goods such as wine, olive oil, coffee, and cacao which are produced in a fair and sustainable way will be in 2017 carried across the seas by wind power only.

Indigo: Sharing blue

Indigo: Sharing blue is an artistic research on indigo. Indigo Dyeing is the shared heritage of Japan and the Netherlands that reached its peak during the Golden Age. By researching the past between these two countries, Crafts Council Nederland brings the traditions of indigo back to life.

Sweet Hirado (East to West Sweets Encyclopaedia)

Firando_ Japan’s Island of Sweets

Two designer/artist teams from the Netherlands, paired with three sweets pastry shops in Hirado as well as with makers for the plates and tea bowls under the directions of the curator Chitose Ochi, introduce a new collection which is related to the Hirado’s sweets culture. The result will be presented during a Dutch Tea Ceremony in Hirado and Tokyo, and in Europe.

OPENING TRADITIONS

Opening Traditions is a project of three designers with different backgrounds, who have studied together at the Design Academy Eindhoven. In collaboration with the shop Unagi no Nedoko and a traditional Japanese ikat weaving company in Yame, Fukuoka, they design a new ikat fabric which will be presented at the Dutch Design Week 2016.

Expert meetings in Kyushu

In 2016, Dutch and Japanese crafts experts are holding two meetings in Kyushu. The participants exchange knowledge and expertise and seek future collaborative partners in the areas of traditional skills, innovation, mutual social concerns and entrepreneurship.

OTANI NIEUWENHUIZE

A new collaborative photographic project

OTANI NIEUWENHUIZE is a collaboration project of the Japanese photographer Shinji Otani and the Dutch photographer Johan Nieuwenhuize. Two photographers with different cultural backgrounds, who not only recognise differences in their concepts and fascinations but also a similar state of mind in each other’s work, visit the most touristic places in the Nederlands and in Kyushu.

Deshima Revived

Een VPRO-mediaproject rond de voltooiing van de herbouw van Deshima, bestaande uit twee radio-documentaires en artikelen in de VPRO Gids in december 2016.

For two centuries, Deshima was the one and only door between Japan and the Western world. What does Deshima mean for the modern Japanese – living in a still relatively isolated country, and for the Dutch – half a globe away? Could Deshima develop into the bearer of new meaning and importance for both Japan and the Netherlands? Perhaps even as a powerful symbol of the importance of growing cooperation in this world, by nations opening their doors?

Opening ceremony Omotemon-bashi Bridge

Highlight Omotemon-bashi Bridge The Omotemon-bashi Bridge connected the artificial island of Dejima, located in Nagasaki bay, with the mainland of Nagasaki between 1641 and 1853, the period in which the Netherlands was the only Western country permitted to trade with Japan. The bridge disappeared after Dejima lost its purpose at the end of the 19th century when the country opened its ports. As a result, Nagasaki developed into a large port city and Dejima was swallowed up by the city. With the completion of the bridge, the original point of access to Dejima will be restored for the first time in 130 years. The symbolic meaning of the bridge is […]