The Zou-no-hana district is where Commodore Perry of the United States first landed when he arrived in Yokohama for his second visit to Japan, on March 31, 1854. Ever since Yokohama was designated as one of the 5 open treaty ports according to The Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and the United States, this area became one of the first fully open ports in Yokohama, and also an important commerce location where people actively traded with various countries.
In 2009, as part of the commemorative event for the 150th anniversary since the opening of the port, the birthplace of the Yokohama port, “Zou-no-hana”, was transformed into the “Zou-no-hana Park”. A wide and spacious square was built on a green hill with a view of the sea and port. The mood of a port town can be felt from the Nihon-odori that runs near, and the “Zou-no-hana Terrace” was constructed within this space as a rest house that could also be used as an art space. Just like how foreign and Japanese cultures met when the port first opened, various people as well as cultures came together and linked. Ever since, it has frequently held various cultural programs of art, performing arts, and music in order to become a spot where new cultures are able to emerge.
The Zou-no-hana Terrace will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2019, and as a commemorative event, the “Public Space Project” will be held. The purpose of this project is to seek ideas from artists and people about what they would like to see or have at the Zou-no-hana Park/Terrace, in order to make it an even more relaxing and comfortable space. The gathered ideas will be exhibited in 2019 as a “Futurescape”, which envisions the state of Zou-no-hana Park/Terrace in 1 year/ 10 years/ 100 years from now.
A Social Experiment to Create to a Comfortable Public Space through Artistic Creativity
The Zou-no-hana Terrace has been open for 9 years. Today it is frequented by many people of the city, such as office workers during their lunch break on weekdays, and also couples as well as families on the weekends. On the other hand however, there is sense that the current state of the space occasionally struggles to meet the needs of people who use the facility. This project attempts to experiment and search for things that can become a form of art in order to create a better environment for the park and terrace users. This will serve as an opportunity to think and discuss about the ideal state of public spaces.
Gathering the individual creative ideas of the people of Yokohama
This project will gather and realize “ideas” for creating an even more comfortable Zou-no-hana Park/Terrace through seeking for applications, and holding an exhibition at the Zou-no-hana Park/Terrace. We seek these “ideas” not only from artists, but also from various types of people such as groups, universities, and companies. Our aim is to create an opportunity where the creative ideas of the creative city, Yokohama, gathers in one place.
SCHEDULE
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(1) Pre-event Workshop
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May 15-June 2, 2018
Ideas were gathered from facility users about what they would like to see or have at the facility. A workshop where participants were divided into groups and a booth was setup for freely writing down their ideas.
ARCHIVE
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(2) Kickoff Event
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June 7, 2018
A talk show and exhibit of the results of the (1) Pre-even Workshop was held. The talk show had guest speakers introduce some of the latest cases of utilizing public spaces, while a free discussion period regarding the possibility of creative activities in public spaces was also held.
ARCHIVE
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(3) Announcement of Application Guideline
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October 10, 2018 16:00-20:00
Explanation of application guideline. A talk show by artists and case project presentation introducing an examples of projects selected from the public will be held.
HOW TO class=”btn btn-outline-dark btn-block btn-lg mt-3 c-btn-link js-animsition-link” SUBMIT
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(4) Application period
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October 10,2018 – Feburary 11, 2019
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(5) Selection/ Preparations
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Entry ideas will be checked by the project office whether they meet application conditions, then the results will be notified to the applicants. Notice is scheduled to be sent by mid-February.
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(6) Zou-no-hana Terrace 10th Anniversary Exhibition
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(Scheduled) June 7-June 16, 2019