Shinano Omachi Art

Shinano Omachi AsahiAIR

Asahi AIR is the small art center in Omachi city, Nagano, Japan. The main program is Artist in Residency. The base facilities had been built for teacher house of Asahi village in 1971 as six one ­storied houses and renovating it for 8 sleeping rooms and 2 working spaces for supporting a local culture and creative activity.

Statement from the residency organizer:

2016 theme [Time, Water, Rice cultivation]

Can you follow the pure curiosity towards this world at the front of you ?

[Time]

Time is the transition of phenomenons. Everybody have their own sense of time and it is affected by their own culture, place and era. Just a hundred years ago, 90 percent of Japanese were farmers. People that time were feeling their own sense of time through "a day" with sunrise and sunset, "a year" with four seasons of agricultural works.

However, we are living in the present day with the pressure of advanced efficiency. How are we going to transit our "time" ?

[Water]

Asahi AIR is located at Omachi city, Nagano, where has been sustained by rich headwaters of Japan Alps. We have great ancient writing called "HO-JYOUKI" It said "The following river never stops and yet the water never stays the same." The sentence brought up the concept of water for Japanese people.

Water represent the impermanence of things. What can we learn from it ?

[Rice cultivation]

Rice is a grain that represents Japan. One rice grain grows up to 800 grains.

That's why Japanese ancient people formed their lifestyle and culture with rice farming. Even now, rice field shows us the symbolic and nostalgic scenery of Japan in all season.

Omachi city is located at the foot of Japan alps at the altitude of about 700m. September, when the residency starts, is a harvest season for rice.

House 1 to 4 are residential buildings. there is two 11 square meter rooms, one 5.5 square meter room, kitchen and toilet in one house.

House 5 is production building and sharing 30 square meters room.

1800X900 desk space will be provided for each artist.

Basic wood craft tools and common room to make connection between artist and local community.

Asahi AIR is located at 7min walk from JR shinano-omachi station.6 bungalow type housings are lined up and it is renovated from teachers house. House 1-4 are residencial buildings, house 5 is for production and house 6 is the entrance part of Asahi AIR to create the exchange between locality and Art.