Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio
Tenjinyama art studio Sapporo provides ongoing self-funded residencies for any amount of time up to 3 months as well as occasional thematic residencies that are detailed at the time of open call. The residency houses 13 studio apartments, versatile larger spaces, as well as a gallery space on the ground floor. Local residents as well as international artists and residents from a wide range of creative backgrounds can make use of this unique public space. This provides a forum for local engagement as well as an open dialogue between the artists and the community. It is an initiative from the Sapporo Municipal Government. Tenjin-yama Art Studios offers ongoing residencies which are funded by the artist and provide them with a studio apartment, use of all the public facilities and a wealth of local knowledge from the staff. The ongoing residencies are open to any individual or group in any creative field who need access to activity in Sapporo, a space to research or produce work from, or a base from which to explore Hokkaido for creative means. Residencies that offer financial support to artists are detailed at the time of open calls.
Current open call 2022-2023: The roads stretch on the snow
Sapporo is a snowy city. When it snows, boundary lines that had been previously visible, disappear. After the snow, the sidewalk I walk on is covered in white, and mysterious lines appear that may be a shortcut made by someone or a detour taken while searching for something. The paths on the snow seem randomly drawn but they actually hold an anonymous logic like that of a rambling curiosity – as if artists left the signs of their research in a certain place.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we realized the power of natural, social, and historical boundaries as well as national and regional borders drawn by governments. In particular, social boundaries arose that led people to have less dealings with strangers. 2022 is the third year since the outbreak of the pandemic and I would like to blur the divisions and divides that inevitably happened to all of us, using artists’ overwhelming power of curiosity – like snow that falls and obliterates all boundaries.
Artistic research, local communities and the creative activities of artists moving to a certain place for a certain period of time shall leave these footprints. Even if we fail again this year, the snow will still return when winter comes again.
Selected artists must:
- Be able to cooperate for the program and the public relations during the program period.
- Be able to cooperate for the research archive during the period.
- Be able to participate in events in the local communities such as exchange programs and artist talks.
- Present their result as an exhibition in about a month’s time after the AIR period.
- Manage one’s own physical and mental health and prevent the spread of novel coronavirus infection.
Tenjinyama Art Studios off three different sizes of studio apartments:
- Studio A, is a small studio is suitable for research and writing with your own laptop. Total 6 studios Size: 19.0㎡(204.51ft²).
- Studio B, The studio is a duplex and two different working spaces are available: one has polyvinyl chloride tiles and the other has carpet. Because of the size, up to a group of three may work together. Total 6 studios Size: 53.0㎡(570.49ft²).
- Studio C, The studio is a duplex and two different working spaces are available: one has polyvinyl chloride tiles and the other has carpet. The size allows up to a group of four to work together. Total 1 studio Size: 73.0㎡(785.77ft²).
Includes also multipurpose studios, suitable for arts productions, meetings, conferences, and theatre practices. These multipurpose studios are open to everybody who wishes to exchange his/her work and ideas.
Studio apartments are available twenty-four hours a day to facilitate artist-in-residence programs and other residency opportunities related to art production and research. The building, which is located in the middle of Tenjin-yama Park and faces a Japanese garden, provides a tranquil haven in the city. Only basic equipment and facilities to support artistic productions are available. Participants/residents are responsible for bringing their own specific tools and equipment. No service for bed linens and sheets. Food and cleaning services are also unavailable. (Convenience stores and supermarkets are nearby.) Smoking is not allowed in any studio.
Equipment available for free hire (reservation required); video projector, portable screens, portable free-standing mirrors, workshop tables, audio facilities (microphones, a CD player, radios, portable blackboard, portable whiteboard. Needs to be reserved in advance.
The base city of artist’s activities, the country of artist’s residence within the permitted range of movement. Some virtual places in Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio, and Hokkaido (art spaces, AIR and an artist’s studio ) at the remote online residency