073: Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
2020.12.16
Special Feature 073 presents articles based on the theme "Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19." In this series, we interview and solicit contributions from persons at the frontlines of art and culture about their thoughts about a society where COVID-19 is spreading and how they are trying to open the way to the future. We also report on efforts to maintain international exchange from the locations around the world where the Japan Foundation undertakes programs.
Amid the lockdowns and the implementation of travel bans worldwide due to COVID-19, the Japan Foundation has been forced to suspend or postpone numerous overseas programs from spring 2020. This is a situation that is unprecedented since our establishment. Today, people can no longer freely interact or gather in large numbers, something that was taken for granted until just recently. Alternatively, people are reevaluating their lifestyles and social systems as evidenced by advancing digitization. In addition, there is an increased focus on medical professionals and other essential workers who are indispensable for maintaining everyday life in society and thus unable to leave their jobs. At the same time, there has been greater attention on the problems of disparities and discrimination.
Amid a situation where it is difficult to interact closely with others, what impact will these experiences have on all of us? What sorts of changes will there be to how we meet, how we share information, experiences and emotions, how diverse people cross borders to meet, how we promote creation in culture and art, and finally, how we empathize with others?
Rather than causing international cultural exchanges to stagnate, we hope that people's experiences with COVID-19 will instead serve as an opportunity to reconsider the inherent significance of these exchanges and to draw on our imaginative powers to overcome the current circumstances. We hope that this special feature will serve as a record of these experiences and help pass these on to the next generation.
Top Story
Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
Interview and Contribution Series <1>
Inaba Toshiro, Doctor and Art Director of Yamagata Biennale 2020
December 16, 2020
Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
Interview and Contribution Series <3>
Kitagawa Fram, Art Director
February 22, 2021
Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
Interview and Contribution Series <6>
Ueda Kanayo, Poet and Activist
April 13, 2021
Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
Interview and Contribution Series <9>
Okada Toshiki, Playwright, Novelist, and Director of chelfitsch
November 29, 2021
Feature Story
Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
Interview and Contribution Series <2>
Ogawa Nozomu, Director, Art Center Ongoing
February 8, 2021
Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
Interview and Contribution Series <4>
Yukisada Isao, Film Director
March 5, 2021
Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
Interview and Contribution Series <8>
Sputniko!, Artist, Speculative Designer and Associate Professor, Tokyo University of the Arts
November 29, 2021
Contributed Articley
Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
Interview and Contribution Series <5>
Sakoda Kumiko, Deputy Executive Director of Hiroshima University
March 10, 2021
Serialized Essay
Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
Interview and Contribution Series<7>
Osawa Torao, NLI Research Institute
April 28, 2021
Behind the Scenes
JF's Initiatives for Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19 <1>
Japan-China online exchange involving the digital native generations at the Centers for "Face-to-Face Exchanges" in China
December 13, 2021
JF's Initiatives for Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19 <2>
How Artists Have Responded to the Pandemic―A Story of a Japan-India Joint Online Stage Production
February 4, 2022
JF's Initiatives for Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19 <3>
ShiShi Yamazaki Animation Masterclass, an Attempt to Obtain Free Expression
February 14, 2022
JF's Initiatives for Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19 <4>
How Can We Expand Our Exhibitions Online?
March 14, 2022
JF's Initiatives for Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19 <5>
Virtually Connecting Intercultural Exchange Organizations throughout Japan
March 22, 2022
JF's Initiatives for Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19 <7>
Connecting Japan and the World Through Japanese Films - Digital and Live JFF Projects -
March 28, 2023
Serialized Essay
Report on the "Sanriku International Arts Festival―Fall Program"
A Visit to the Origins of Performing Arts (Part 1)
Contributed Article Series "Chinese Intellectuals Visit Japan" <1>
Contributed Article Series "Chinese Intellectuals Visit Japan" <2>
Contributed Article Series "Chinese Intellectuals Visit Japan" <3>
Contributed Article Series "Chinese Intellectuals Visit Japan" <4>
Behind the Scenes
Report on Overseas Performances in Mexico and Peru by Okazaki Art Theatre
Web Magazine Wochi Kochi
Back Issues
- 082: My Life in Japan, Living and Working in Japanese
- 080: The 50th Japan Foundation Awards
―Culture Transcending Borders― - 079: Movie Theaters around the World
- 078: The 49th Japan Foundation Awards
―Building Bridges Across Differences― - 077: Living Together with Japanese Language
- 076: Inner Diversity
- 075: The 48th Japan Foundation Awards―Linking the World through Culture amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
- 074: Beyond Disasters - Telling the Stories
- 073: Crossing Borders, Engaging in Exchanges and Harnessing the Power of Creation amid COVID-19
- 072: Japanese art blossoming in the United States
- 071: The 47th Japan Foundation Awards―the Bond between Japan and the World Nurtured by Culture, Language and Knowledge
- 070: Japan & Southeast Asia: Building Bonds through Sports
- 069: Contemporary Japanese literature spreading through the world
- 068: Success of Japonismes 2018
- 067: Literature and music that resonate across borders and Japanese culture handed down from the past: The Japan Foundation Awards 2018
- 066: A Passion for learning Japanese spreads worldwide
- 065: Contemporary Arts that Link Japan and Cuba
- 064: Japonismes 2018: Introducing the essence of Japanese arts and culture in France
- 063: Passion and Curiosity Open Doors to Cross-Cultural Communication - The Japan Foundation Awards 2017
- 062: ASEAN 50th Anniversary: Southeast Asia Now and into the Future, as Seen through Art
- 061: Regional Cultural Assets and International Exchange
- 060 CGP/Abe Fellowship Program 25th Anniversary
- 059 Evolving International Exhibitions and Their Future
- 058 The World Expanded by Japanese Language
- 057 Search for the Future of Media Art
- 056 Five Years after the Great East Japan Earthquake
- 055 Various Ways of International Friendship and Cultural Exchange: The Japan Foundation Awards 2015
- 054 Japanese Contemporary Art that Captivates Europe
- 053 Communicate, Convey――Reasons for Learning Languages
- 052 Chim↑Pom's Expedition to Bangladesh
- 051 Interaction on a Global Scale: The 2014 Japan Foundation Prizes for Global Citizenship
- 050 Thinking about the Future of Tohoku with People all over the World
- 049 Parisians were Mesmerized by Hokusai Once Again--The 200th Anniversary of the Hokusai Manga
- 048 Language and Laughter that Connect People -- The Japan Foundation Awards 2014
- 047 Discovering a New World through Japanese Language
- 046 Absorbing modernization: the Path that Japan followed
- 045 Seeking to understand human existence - Theatrical Performances Cut Across National Borders
- 044 Asian Writers Discuss Literature
- 043 Artists Expressing Their Own Times in Their Own Places
- 042 Scenery Created by Modern Architecture
- 041 Strengthen bonds among Asian Countries
- 040 Nurturing the Seeds of Friendship that Developed Out of the Disaster
- 039 Stage Productions Created by ASEAN and Japanese Artists
- 038 Traditional Japanese Art Meets the World: An Opportunity for Evolution
- 037 Communicating in Japanese
- 036 The 41st Japan Foundation Awards: Connecting the World, Connecting Generations
- 035 At the Cutting Edge of the Scene: Media Art and Architecture from Japan
- 034 An Unabridged Analysis--Koki Tanaka @ Venice Biennale
- 033 Pursuing Hope, Dreams and Love: Artists Exploring New Realms
- 032 Beyond Borders: Promoting Japanese Literature Abroad
- 031 Taking a Fresh Look on Postwar Japanese Art--Tokyo, Seoul, New York
- 030 Sharing with the World: Japan's Experiences and Recovery Efforts in the Disaster-Stricken Areas
- 029 Seeing the Future of Japan through a Prism of Colorful Light
- 028 At the Leading Edge: Robot, Android, and Vocaloid
- 027 Japanese Society through the Lens of Art
- 026 The Japan Foundation Awards 2012
- 025 Architecture. Possible here? Home-for-All
- 024 People in Japan- China Exchange
- 023 Open a Window through the Japanese-Language
- 022 Nature, the Environment, and Art
- 021 Feeling the Middle East closer
- 020 Thinking in India
- 019 Discovering Contemporary Japan at the JFIC
- 018 A Year from 3.11, Has Art Managed to Help Society?
- 017 Literature that transcends time and space
- 016 Japanese Pop Culture Now!
- 015 The Japan Foundation Awards Special Issue: Profiles of Pioneers
- 014 Encounter with Hokusai in Germany
- 013 Biennnale/Triennnale
- 012 Festival !
- 011 Designs that connect, locally and globally
- 010 After 3.11
- 009 Thinking of Korea
- 008 Bringing People Together with Nihongo
- 007 The world meets butoh
- 006 Spellbound by Japanese cinema
- 005 Cultural Heritage Lives on Today
- 004 表現としてのマンガ
- 003 音楽が紡ぐ出会い 日本×アフリカ
- 002 越境する文学
- 001 これからの国際文化交流