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1 week exhibition
At the conclusion of the open call, 9 ideas were carefully selected by the for Cities team to be presented and tested at for Cities Week.
for
Cities
Week
2021
https://www.youtube.com/embed/QeaSfz7uB2c
What is for Cities Week?
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7 workshops
In addition to the week-long exhibition, various workshops were organized to bring people together and test some of the ideas submitted to the for Cities platform.
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2 cities
for Cities Week 2021 took place in two Japanese cities: Tokyo and Kyoto. Each location held a week-long series of exhibitions, workshops, events, performances, pop-up shops, meetups, lectures, and short-term projects.
Download the exhibition booklet
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ioH8-LjRcYpz96X021QMItkaxFB7m4Xi/view
Exhibited work
Neo Ergonomic Culture
by Studio PLiZ
Studio PLiZ challenges the obsession with comfort in our daily lives through the introduction of non-ergonomic elements into existing infrastructures. By making the human body uncomfortable in certain areas, they seek to encourage semi-sport activities and exercise in the everyday lives of individuals. Photo Gallery
Invisible in Visible
by Carlos Soler Eugene Architect
The current pandemic has seen changes in our social and urban context through social distancing. This installation explores the body and its relationship to our surroundings by giving urban, in-between spaces throughout Kyoto a physical form delineated by inflated balloons. These inflatable objects temporarily interrupt and reveal connections as the body navigates our environment and our relationships with each other. Photo Gallery
Small Spaces of Anarchy
by Chris Berthelsen
Small spaces of anarchy are zones of human(e)-scale action, attachment, and care. They can 1) Supplant state control in an aspect of city life, 2) Exist outside majority rule, and 3) Promote unimposed order as a style of working. For this exhibition, Chris Berthelsen’s previous project archives were presented as books, photographs, and videos. Photo Gallery
Oggetti Socievoli
by Melita Studio
During the harsh, socially-isolated period of lockdown between March and July 2020, the Oggetti Socievoli (Sociable Objects) project was started as a way to investigate, discover, rediscover, and reinterpret home-objects. The Oggetti Socievoli project sought to build community and share lockdown experiences by asking people to send photos of their home-object along with a short description. Photo Gallery
Nippashi’s Tokyo Pavilion
by Yoshimitsu Nippashi
This project is a series of illustrations based on the theme of reimagining relationships between the old and the new. Berlin-based Nippashi created six original pieces for the show - “Tower of old coffee shops,” “Out of Style Landfill,” “Reggae Park,” “Waikiki Apartment Complex,” “Restrooms in Shibuya,” and “Nakagin Capsule Sauna.” This work proposes a series of humorous ideas for preserving old architecture and culture for the future of a city. Photo Gallery
A whole generation: development while you have to stay at home
by Rik Stabel
During lockdown we were creatively challenged to continue our cultural development. This series of illustrations by Rik Stabel, depicting Tokyo, Kyoto, and Amsterdam, is an ode to everyone who tried to make the most of this strange and difficult time. Photo Gallery
Nikawa - Soft Structure
by Nikawa Lab
Soft Structure is made by saturating textile products with glue dissolved in water. This process provokes a transition from the soft quality of the fiber to its hardened state. In addition to the performance of these material properties as everyday objects, the team used this installation as an opportunity to demonstrate Nikawa’s architectural potential. Photo Gallery
Pseudo-Maintenance of Bridges
by Maintenance Club
In this project, the Maintenance Club has conducted temporal, performative maintenance on some of the bridges of the Jodo-ji neighborhood in Kyoto. This act of maintenance is not about simply restoring the bridge to its former state; rather, it is about imagining its past and generating time in which it will continue to exist and be sustained. Photo Gallery
Workshops & ActivitiesHover to see details! ↓
Nishiike Cleanup (530 week & for Cities)
Cleaning. This single action is a casual way to get involved in a city. Guided by a 530 week team, a series of cleaning activities was conducted in the Ikebukuro neighborhood. Photo Gallery
Sewing Donation (Sakura Sanchome)
For this workshop, the exhibitors asked for a “sewing donation,” whereby participants donate one stitch to Sakura Sanchome to co-create a curtain for the exhibition venue. Photo Gallery
City Exercise (X Train & for Cities)
This workshop was both a demonstration and exercise which allowed participants to experience how to physically play in the city. Under the guidance of the X Train parkour team, participants navigated playground equipment and controlled urban environments. Photo Gallery
Lost Terminal Becak Test Ride (Jun Kitazawa)
“Lost Terminal" is a project initiated by Jun Kitazawa, a Japanese artist living in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Kitazawa works with local artisans to create various types of human-powered vehicles that pass through Indonesian streets, and installs them in Japanese town squares to create an “imaginary terminal” of vehicles which people can ride. Photo Gallery
Sign Up (Playfool)
We are constantly surrounded by rules in the city. To challenge the ubiquitous rigidity of these rules, we instead use them as an opportunity for play, creation, experimentation, and transformation. This workshop encouraged everyone to create their own original rules for the city, thus enabling them to alter the landscape of laws in the spaces which surround them. Photo Gallery
Roll Playing Truck (Repipe)
Roll Playing Truck is a truck with roll-shaped materials available at DIY stores which is constructed through guerilla interventions in urban voids. This single object proposes a new urban experience by purposely misreading the role of things and places. Photo Gallery
From a scene to your rooftop (RF Records)
This workshop asked participants to bring white fabric and clothing, dye them with Setouchi lemons, and dry them out on rooftops throughout Tokyo. Photo Gallery
Repair Cafe (Jun Yamaguchi)
for Cities, in collaboration with maker Jun Yamaguchi, organized the first Repair Café in Kyoto. Jun, a repair expert, was available during the exhibition week to help make all types of repairs. Photo Gallery
Clothing Self-Sufficiency (Jun Yamaguchi)
Jun Yamaguchi focuses on humble, everyday works of art, including domestic chores such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the elderly, that are often unseen and forgotten. Making and repairing one’s own clothes also used to be part of traditional housework. Photo Gallery
Mobile Milk Tea Bar
This food stand was originally created by food designer Haruna Nakayama and Scrap Soshoku-Sha using found materials. The food stand was brought by bike and used as an experimental space in the context of Ikebukuro. Photo Gallery
Kyoto Cleanup (Studio B. Severin)
This workshop, guided by Studio B Severin, was designed to enable participants to experience cleaning as an act of reconnecting with oneself, others, and the environment. During the event, participants cleaned up various areas of Sakyo-ku under the guidance of Studio B Severin. The aim was to use cleaning and meditation to observe and experience the city from a new perspective. Photo Gallery
Ugly Building Tour
This city walk took participants to the “ugly” side of the city and encouraged them to share their dislikes and define what they consider to be “ugly.” The mission here was not to negatively criticize something specific—rather, we strove to recognize why we respond the way we do, and to discover what we cherish most in our urban landscape. Photo Gallery
Urbanist Talk
The curation team organized a series of talk sessions with each participating exhibitor. These sessions offered an opportunity for participants to share their impressions of the exhibition and their work, while also providing a forum to discuss their previous activities and exchange their perspectives on cities. Photo Gallery
Cities & Venues
Tokyo: Nishiike Valley (23rd - 31st October 2021)
Kyoto: Bridge To Kyoto (7th - 14th November)
Exhibition Booklet
Get a physical copy of the booklet from here
