Artist

Artists devise project plans and create artworks

Mariko Tomomasa

Bonds between people will be my legacy to this community

During my residency in Senju, I organized the Unknown Alleys Film Festival, a project in which I worked with local people to make independent films and then held a screening to show them all. The participants ranged from older, retired men to high school students with an interest in urban development and foreign residents who’d only recently moved to Japan. All of us, including myself, were completely new to film-making.

Although I was the one who came up with the idea for the project, it was the local participants who made the films. “Breaks” spontaneously developed when neighbors came out to chat during filming. I get the feeling that it’s these breaks that give rise to expressiveness and communication.

The Unknown Alleys Film Festival made me think about the role of artists in art projects. This project didn’t involve an artist leaving an artwork in the neighborhood. But the sense of community that emerged in the film-making process should remain even after I’ve left. The films belong to everyone: the production staff, actors, and even the local people in the background of each scene. That’s why I really feel a bit uncomfortable about my name coming first in the project title. I believe that one of the roles of an artist is to create places in the neighborhood where people can gather (=spontaneous breaks).

Initially, the project was only due to last a year, but many people wanted to keep going, so I’m carrying on with it this year, too. I’m hoping to spend a bit more time thinking about approaches to art projects while I’m in this neighborhood.