CCA, Center for Contemporary Art and Peace Winds Japan (PWJ) launch a new art platform CCA Islands, based on the venues of three islands in Japan—Toyoshima (Seto), Ishigaki and Amami. Standing on the concept: “Art supports artists and saves lives,” the project brings together contemporary art and humanitarian assistance to create new synergies.
CCA Islands aims to develop art projects that extend the framework for the presentation of art, with new ways of working. The program is associated with humanitarian support, working as an initiative towards environmental protection and enrichment of island culture. Activities will include art works and publications derived from research, supported by lectures, conferences and workshops. CCA Islands offers the CCA Travel Scholarship to emerging artists, curators, architects, designers, and aspiring professionals in various areas of contemporary art and culture.
The main venue of CCA Islands is Toyoshima, a small, uninhabited island in the Seto Inland Sea. Gerhard Richter’s site-specific commissioned work, 14 Panes of Glass for Toyoshima, dedicated to futility (2015), is open to the public by appointment for a limited time. Currently, an art library is under construction, and CCA Islands is focusing on active use of the library, while the gallery and residential spaces will complete the art research center.
We work closely with the committee to devise programs and operations. We explore and review together. We are continuously examining and challenging - seeking a new model for an art institution.
Nowadays, art exhibitions and projects are organized all over the world, and contemporary art disregards national and political boundaries, transcending and continuously expanding traditional arenas. Experienced not only in museums and galleries, fields for art can be anywhere, actual and virtual, and are all-pervasive through the internet. The domain of art is now widely recognized as a medium for many other kinds of academic expression. The world of art reflects and mediates the enormous changes in the ways we conceive and recognize borders, space, information and communication, as technology is continuously changing politics and economics.
The acceleration of new, unexpected and unpredictable events in the world has convinced us that our relationship with art needs to be reconsidered, without cutting ourselves off from society. Growing from CCA’s longstanding reputation for challenging, internationally acclaimed projects, and incorporated with Peace Winds Japan humanitarian aid activities, CCA Islands aims to develop a new art hub, a site for exchange and connection.
CCA Islands International Committee: Cao Fei, Artist; Joseph Grigely, Artist; Hou Hanru, Curator; María Inés Rodríguez, Curator; Kensuke Onishi (Chairperson & CEO, Peace Winds Japan); Hiroshi Kunita (Chief, Social Design Department, Peace Winds Japan); Nobuo Nakamura (Director, CCA Islands).
Peace Winds Japan
Established in 1996, an international NGO Peace Winds Japan provides humanitarian assistance in conflict and disaster-affected areas in over 34 countries, mainly focusing on the areas of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. PWJ is engaged in cultural and educational activities, which are pressing issues needing support in many parts of the world. PWJ is also active in animal welfare and dog rescue.
CCA
Center for Contemporary Art (CCA) is a research institution for contemporary art, founded in Kitakyushu in 1997. Since then, CCA has been presenting art exhibitions and projects together with internationally renowned artists and practitioners from various fields such as architecture and science. CCA ran a studio and fellowship program for emerging artists, curators, and aspiring professionals in the art world.
