Koganecho Bazaar 2014
Artist-in-Residence Program
Call for Foreign Artists Participation

Application period has ended. We appreciate your interest in Koganecho Bazaar 2014

1. Introduction (Goal of the Project)

“Koganecho Bazaar” is an art festival hosted by the Koganecho Area Management Center (KAMC), a non-profit organization that uses art to revitalize the Koganecho Urban Area at Yokohama City Naka Ward. Held every autumn since 2008, and using the city’s everyday spaces as a stage, the festival has invited and presented more than 140 groups of artists, curators, and architects from Japan and abroad. The festival examines current issues raised by contemporary art with an organizational plan that considers creation from concept to presentation as a consecutive process. In 2014, the festival will be expanded into an international art festival showcasing thirty new artworks by both local and international artists and groups.

Koganecho Area Management Center has since its inception, been promoting international exchanges that focus on Asian regions and has been working towards building a productive network of artists and curators through the Artists in Residence (AIR) program focusing on the concept of ‘Community and Art.’ In 2013, KAMC held a three days public event Asian Art Exchange Symposium: Alternative Route with guest artists and curators from six Asian countries (China , Taiwan , Indonesia , Thailand , Philippines and Vietnam ) together with participating Japanese artists and art practitioners. In the wake of the symposium, KAMC is expanding our current network to include diverse cultures in East and Southeast Asian countries. Koganecho Bazaar 2014 considers urban planning as a creative multicultural platform of collaborative art practices and perspectives.

2. About the Area and Exhibition Space

From the days following the World War II, the Koganecho area was known for its prostitution and drugs. At its peak, there were about 250 small shops used as brothels. Since then the Association for Hatsunecho, Koganecho and Hinodecho Environmental Cleanup, in cooperation with the region, government, police, universities and others, has been revitalizing the area. In 2008, two art studio buildings located under the Keihin Electric Expressway were completed and the citywide Koganecho Bazaar was first held. The following April, the non-profit organization Koganecho Area Management Center was established to continue the area’s art-based development. With the illegal businesses now gone, many of the area’s old shops remain vacant or closed. As part of the program to revitalize the area, the city of Yokohama and Koganecho Area Management Center are revitalizing these spaces into artist studios, shops, cafes and so on in collaboration with local community. In compliment, the annual Koganecho Bazaar is organized to support local and international artists, develop the area’s master plan and promote local brands. The projects for this event take place in different locations including former brothels, railway buildings, outdoor spaces and walls, showroom windows, shops etc.

3. Project Concept: Art/Fictive Communities/Asia

The theme of Koganecho Bazaar 2014, organized in collaboration with local and international organizations and curators, is Fictive Communities.

The term community refers to both a residential area and a social unit, a group of people who share things in common, like language, interests, family, friends, and a wide sense of contexts. From this point of view, everyone belongs to multiple communities and these communities are constantly changing and updating over time.

Koganecho Bazaar 2014 aims to create a place where we can share and exchange our thoughts on the utopic concept of Fictive Communities through the experience and interpretation of artworks by participating artists from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds. It gives us an opportunity to discover new ways of looking at the actual residential place (community) from fresh and multiple perspectives through experiencing the artworks’ new visual languages and analogies. As well, it attempts to update the concept of art and community.

Through the various cultural-exchange programs such as Artists in Residence (AIR), exhibitions, symposiums and workshops, Koganecho Bazaar 2014 hopes to incubate new thinking about relationships between heterogeneous communities that before had no contact with each other, while imagining Fictive Communities as a society in which diverse values coexist.

4. Details of Call for Participation

The organizers are accepting proposals for Koganecho Bazaar 2014 based on the above theme on Fictive Communities.

Proposals for creative work in any genre may be submitted, but participants must stay at least 30 days or longer in Koganecho (Up to 90 days).

After the selection process, the actual location of the proposed project will be discussed between the organizers and artists to find an effective use of facilities provided and a high availability to the public audience.

Proposed plans must be original, not previously exhibited works.

5. Project Timeline:

Creative Period of Residency : June 1 to August 1, 2014
The actual period of creation is flexible, depending on the details of the proposal, but must include a minimum 30 day (up to 90 days) stay in Koganecho area. The artist is required to realize creation and implementation of the artwork by the opening of the exhibition.

Exhibition Period: August 1 (Fri) to November 3 (Mon), 2014

6. Number of Residencies Available: 10

Depending on the results of the selection process, the actual number selected may be more or less than the foreseen number.

7. Application Requirements

A.	Applicants must not have Japanese citizenship and may not be residing in Japan.
B.	B. Applicants must be able to stay for more than 30 days in Koganecho within the project schedule. Preference goes to artists who can stay 60 days or more.
C.	Applicants must be self-sufficient and independent workers prepared to take on the entire creative process and adjusting to daily life in a new setting.
D.	Applicants must without exception exhibit the results of their creative work at the Koganecho Bazaar.
E.	Applicants must strictly observe the schedule for creation and exhibition below (see section 5).
F.	Applicants must work with the Koganecho office to engage in outreach programs such as artist talks, lectures or workshops within the project duration.
G.	Applicants must be able to explain their work in either English, Korean, or Japanese and must be able to understand English at the level of daily conversation.
H.	Applicants will be required to present a report on this project in either their own country or a country other than Japan after the end of the Koganecho residency.

8. Other Support from Organizers

A. Production, Exhibition and De-installation Cost, and Payment Process
Depending on the submitted proposal, financial assistance for creative expenses of up to ¥1,000,000 (includes shipping, demolishing, installation related construction and audio-visual equipment rental) will be available. Expenses without a receipt will not be compensated.

B. Other
- Travel costs including international travel and visas for Japanese immigration (actual expense) and living expenses of will be provided separately. Expenditures without receipts will not be reimbursed.

- Living expenses will be provided in part after arrival in Japan.
- Costs for accommodations and exhibition space (including lighting and heating costs) are covered by the office.
- The organizers will advertise participating proposals for the Koganecho Bazaar 2014.

9. Copyright and Sale of Creative Works

The organizers will sign an agreement with the artist about the copyright and sale of creative works after individual consultation. Both the organizer and the artist have the right to use photographs and videos documenting the creative space, the exhibition space, the creative work, and so on. The organizer and the artist will consult as necessary before commencing sales of creative work.

10. How to Apply

◆Application Deadline
Applications must arrive in the office before Sunday, December 1, 2013 to Friday, January 31, 2014

◆Application Materials
Download the application materials (forms 1 to 4) from the website and submit them by E-mail.

◆Method of Submission
Submissions will be accepted by E-mail. Send the application materials as attachments to the e-mail address provided below. Data up to a total of 25 MB may be accepted by E-mail. For applications larger than capacity, use a file delivery service or upload the files to your own server and send us a link. Video works should be uploaded on youtube, vimeo or your own server. E-mail address for submissions: koganechobazaar2014@gmail.com

◆Selection Committee
・Nozomu Ogawa (Director, Art Center Ongoing)
・Makiko Hara (Guest Curator, Koganecho Bazaar)
・Shingo Yamano (Director, Koganecho Bazaar)
・Mayumi Hirano (Independent Curator and researcher)

◆Selection Process Timeline
The selection committee will make decisions based on the submitted materials. The results of the selection process will be reported to the applicants by the end of February 2014.

11. FAQ

Please click here to check the FAQ.

11. Contact

Koganecho Area Management Center
TEL: +81-45-261-5467
FAX: +81-45-325-7222
E-MAIL: koganechobazaar2014@gmail.com
http://www.koganecho.net