FOREWORD
one by one. It is art that makes it possible to realize andI was looking at the calendar in order to confirm the schedulevalue the fact that each person has their own different charm.

for next year, and the number 2020 jumped out at me.

On the TURN practice frontlines, delivering the essence of art

When TURN began in Tokyo in 2015, it wasn t easy then tothat values being different on a daily basis to people withimagine five years in the future, but time tells us that we rediverse backgrounds and customs has allowed us to come into

finally almost there, like it or not.

contact with a world we didn t know before, and encounter

TURN is in it s fourth year.

moments that open new possibilities for relationships we–thought could not be built.

TURN NOTE is probably a rarity among project deliverables–

referred to as booklets documenting projects. We are

However, we have to consider welfare as well.

attempting to convey the activities of this year with hardly any

Here we understandphotographs and in around 45 recorded words, of about 200-

welfare for people with disabilities or elderly adults, but

400 characters each written in Japanese.

also incorporating a wider area including support for social

TURN is an art project that has come to emphasize hands-on

minorities. Welfare is the job of identifying the individual needs

experience, without giving priority to fancily-wordedof people who find it difficult to live a normal life in society,interpretation and explanation. So the reason we are doing ouror who feel difficulty living within the existing framework ofbooklet like this is because we are focused on the hope thatsociety, and providing support that leads towards improvement

an accumulation of bite-sized dialog and physical responses

in their situations. In order that the person in question

generated in the field and recorded in words just as theyleads a better life, it is necessary to work towards a broadcame out or happened will support those working people onunderstanding of everything around the person in question

projects, leading to the shaping of TURN.

such as family, community and society. After all, that the–starting point and ultimate goal always lie with the individual.

When TURN first started, supervisor Katsuhiko Hibino often

I believe that, as a cultural project aiming to realize a diversified

used the words one by one. He used it with such regularity

society, the greatest reason for TURN to work in partnershipthat when we implemented TURN in Argentina*, virtually thewith welfare is its expertise in getting close to people. When

first words that the local coordinator learned in Japanese wastrying to develop TURN through communication among people

welfare as not being limited towith diverse backgrounds, collaborating with welfare that has

TURN the word already exists. Hibino s phrase TURN as aconstantly been by people s sides will surely bring about anword to connect is truly symbolic of TURN in its fourth year.

upsurge of possibilities.

Of course, when you have the experience, or the moment–

you utter the words, you cannot calculate where they belong

When we hear the word art, we often understand it asin the overall picture of TURN. But we search for the next

something that must be created, or as a creation that must be

step to take while we are following in the footsteps of theseaccurately interpreted. However, the art I am referring to is theexperiences and thoughts.

observation of unrealized things encountered in everyday life,

Through encounters kickstarted by TURN between a variety

or viewing with interest the moment something starts to turnof people, new reactions are happening; changes have been

into reality. The aim is that anywhere in everyday life becomesencouraged in frameworks and time thought unchangeablea place for experiencing art and everyone can become theunder a person s own steam and difficult matters from thesubject of art.

world of reality are starting to be seen from a different angle.

Reality brims with the untidy and the unresolved, but theTime to think about each one of these matters will lead TURN

moment we are able to react to these situations is precisely

to becoming a more creative project.

when we can say we have TURNed.

I hope this publication will be a guide towards supporting this.

I see this art project as a journey to find TURN itself,–

and TURN NOTE as a notebook that records what was–

experienced on the journey.

TURN Coordinator–

Riko Okuyama

However, in the making of this third issue of the booklet, there
have been changes to our approach.
In the process of selecting the words, we came across many
words; not just in the process of looking for TURN, but also
many words giving the sense that people working elsewhereon other projects were gathering together, and gatheringexperiences cultivated through their own initiatives because*TURN in BIENALSUR (July ̶ October, 2017 / Argentina, Peru)TURN 2018

ABOUT TURN––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

January

TURN Meeting No. 4 held (Annual report meeting)On the theme of community expansion and overseas development, together with

SOCIALLY INCLUSIVE ART PROJECT

guests we reviewed TURN in 2017 and discussed the outlook for the future.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

February

TURN LAND events held in various communities/facilities
Welfare facilities and community spaces such as Itabashi-ku Komone Fukushien,
Kimagure Yaoya Dandan, Atelier La Mano and Harmony together with artists held

TURN is the umbrella term for an art project that brings about

open TURN LAND events.

interaction in expressive form through encounters among diverse––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

people, transcending differences in customs and background suchMarch

as disabled/non disabled, generation, gender, nationality andexploring latent issues in society through the characteristics of various people.

living environment.
In the TURN Interactive Program, artists make repeated visits
to welfare facilities and communities of people requiring

Research Program report meeting held (closed meeting)Meeting implemented to report results of the artist-conducted research program––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––April

Launch of TURN 2018 program
Year-round programs were implemented for TURN Interactive Program featuring newsocial support, interacting with members and participating inartists and facilities, and TURN LAND s second year. Tokyo University of the Arts

cooperative activities. In TURN LAND, settings for the day-to-joins organizers to collaborate on the development of TURN in Japan and overseas.

day implementation of TURN s activities are created in local––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

communities. With these two programs as a foundation, theMay

TURN Meeting No. 5 held
TURN project stakeholders met to share project topics for the year.

significance of TURN is widely disseminated through the TURN
Meeting and TURN FES.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––July

TURN – LA TOLAJapanese artists traveled to the La Tola region of Quito, the capital of Ecuador, andSupervisor: Katsuhiko Hibino (Artist; Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and professor in thestaged performances generated through interactions with local artists, students, local

Department of Inter-media Art, Tokyo University of the Arts) | Project Director: Tsukasa

residents and others.

Mori (Project Coordination Division Program Director, Arts Council Tokyo) | Coordinator:
Riko Okuyama (Arts Council Tokyo; Tokyo University of the Arts Project Research Assistant,––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Curator of Mizunoki Museum of Art, Kameoka) | Organized by: Tokyo Metropolitan

AugustTURN FES 4 Ppijjoppijoppi (Ordinary-extraordinary) held
Under the theme ofGovernment, Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History andPpijjoppijoppi (Ordinary- extraordinary), a word coined by

TURN supervisor Katsuhiko Hibino, guests from all around Japan and overseas

Culture), the nonprofit organization Art s Embrace, Tokyo University of the Arts

gathered for a rollout of exhibitions, performances, workshop, talks and tours.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––TURN came about through a joint exhibition held during 2014 – 2015 by The Nippon
Foundation and a group of dedicated Art Brut museums, which was called TURN ̶ From––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

October

TURN Meeting No. 6 held

Land to Sea (Exploring People s Innate Capabilities.) It was launched as a leading project

As well as looking back on TURN FES 4, talks were held by special guests on humanfor the Cultural Program of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2015.

resource development and accessibility initiatives in cultural facilities looking towards
a future of more social diversity.

This book is based on the following documents from TURN project(January–December 2018)
As of December 31, 2018.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Timeline page

TURN daily reports are posted on TURN
official website
https://turn-project.com/timeline––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Transcribed data●

Research Program Report Meetings

The 2017 Research Program Report Meeting
was held at Arts Council Tokyo on March 5, 2018●

TURN FES 4

Talk sessions and other parts of the program thattook place during the event at Tokyo Metropolitan
Art Museum on August 17-19, 2018●

TURN Meeting (No.4 –No.6)

An open forum for sharing experiences of TURN
and exchanging opinions. No. 4 on January 28
was held at Tokyo National Museum, No. 5 on
May 13 and No. 6 on October 27 were both heldat Tokyo University of the Arts.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Other

Review meeting for TURN FES 4 Supporters(volunteer staff), emails exchanged in thecourse of the project, remarks made during
meetings, etc.

growing understanding in society at large that
art is functioning in the world. I think it will
become a vital word and movement.
Nowadays, even in the domains of art andWords with TURN

With the advent of the word TURN, there isheading in that direction; and although there
is movement towards opening things that areclosed, I hope TURN will also function as aword to connect them.
–
Katsuhiko Hibino (TURN Supervisor)
From TURN Meeting 4
January 28, 2018

TURN as a word that connects

welfare, all sorts of places and situations areWe don t call autistic Mai Takahashi s stuff as

That person didn t move for quite a long time,

artworks which is colored-tape-wrappedand people around began to get confused.

ornaments and toys. They are hers, but we re

While wondering whether to throw out a lifeline,

not sure what they are to her. If she asked us

we just stood our ground and watched. But

to sell them we would, but she doesn t referthen their index fingers moved slowly, andto them as her works and neither does she

people around gasped involuntarily, Oh!

ask us to sell them. Looking at her random(Omitted)

figure, doing her thing all day long, moves me

I talked with facility staff about Wait . Waiting

very much.

meant the people around watching what was

From A tour around mixed-up sister, TURN FES 4
August 17, 2018

probably look at what happens in front of themagain with fresh eyes.
–
Kentaro Onishi (Dancer)
From Waiting, Timeline page
January 17, 2018

Words with TURN

Words with TURN

organization Creative Support Lets)

happening could breathe again: they will

Wait

Midori Kubota (Director of Authorized the nonprofit

That random figure–I was really happy that I was able to be there

they have rich and fulfilling lives? That isn t all

together with people with disabilities. I was

there is to it. Art is hope, and at the same time, it s

like, oh, so it s like this. I guess you could say

a guide that shows us how to live.

it was really fulfilling for me to be in a place

Human beings live amid their connections with

where I could look squarely at issues that I dknow. What we don t know, we leave unknown;
what we don t have an answer for, we leaveunanswered. In the usual types of education andwork, results are always required. Not just thattype of steady growth ̶ individuals differences
and weak points become strong points.
Whether or not they are having these sorts ofexperiences through art will be a major difference.
–
Shuko Ebihara(General Incorporated Association kuriya*)
From Towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs): Thinking about thecommunity of the future, TURN FES 4*General Incorporated Association kuriya carries out programs foryouths with migrant backgrounds, focusing on the development ofpotential and the creation of opportunities through art projects.

Words with TURN

August 17, 2018

feeling that I ve personally been TURNed.
Oh, and above all, I received strong affirmation
that, as an artist, it s OK for me to be in thissociety, too.

Words with TURN

when we don t find answers, don t get results, don t

always sort of set aside. In that sense, I have a–
Katsuya Ise (Artist)
From Research Program Report Meeting
March 5, 2018

So it s OK for me to be in this society, tooother people. It s completely OK to have times

Art is a guide that shows us how to live

If speak Japanese and have financial stability, canIt s all the same to me, he said.
But after several years, this shopping street
president had made words like diversity andtolerance his own. He pointed out bias andunfairness when discussing the future of the
shopping street, such as the fact that there were
no women and nobody from a welfare facility

very important.
When we have arts and crafts class, welearn art, don t we?
After becoming adults, some people say, I m
not good at art. But it seems to me that art
is not intrinsically something that people canbecome bad at.
If the way in which people encounter art for
the first time leads them to say, I m not goodat art, it means that only some of the roles

wasn t entirely related to the art project, but I feltof art were communicated to them. Art has athere had been some influence there.
If left alone, people interact with each otheraccording to title, social position and personal

Words with TURN

among association members. This probably

wider range of roles (than people realize). Art has
the power to discover each person s special
qualities and the power to change people s

attributes, but you can also communicate where

values.

this is not the case.

––

Katsuhiko Hibino (TURN Supervisor)

Ichirota Suzuki (Director, Large, Small & Ref)

From Closing talk: Looking to the future,

From TURN Meeting No. 4

TURN FES 4

January 28, 2018

August 19, 2018

Words with TURN

time, he didn t seem to know what to do at first.

In considering the roles of art, education is

A variety of roles

street association on a certain art project one

Shopping street president

When I was with the president of a shoppingA time when
you feel alive

pretty late hard at it, and forget the time.
At the time, they do have quite a sense ofor going to the other world. It s the time where
we self-edit the meaning of our own lives.
–
Katsuya Ise (Artist)
March 5, 2018

Words with TURN

the money, nor for anything really. They stay upthat it s an important time in terms of journeying

From Research Program Report Meeting

Whatever our students making, they put all theirenergy into making it. It s not about doing it for

What does the time of old age mean? I think

concentrating on creation. They lose themselvesand get caught up in what they are doing in the
moment. But after a bit of time has passed andthey look back, they think, that s right: they did
feel alive then.
I think what this means is that the act of creation
can offer you a time when you feel utterly alive.
I wonder how that concentrated time of feelingalive is connected to creative expression.
–
From Shure University Talk, TURN FES 4
August 18, 2018
*Shure University is a Shinjuku-based alternative university exploring
the connection between people and society. It is attended by hikikomori
or socially-withdrawn students, and students who do not attend regular

Words with TURN

Kageki Asakura (Staff member at Shure University*)world

school.

A self-editing

The noise revolution

Nowadays the world is a convenient place,but when things become convenient, they are
Words with TURN

immobilized.
(Omitted)

For example, children who don t go to class.
They are seen as having no intention of

Giant of experimental music John Cageparticipating in class. If that was really the

produced music consisting entirely of noise,

case, you could turn it around and say thatbringing a sort of Copernican revolution tothey are in fact expressing intention: themusic. Since this revolution, noise has

intention not to go to class.

become inclusive media as music. Here in

However we can t see it like that in today s

Ecuador we are foreigners, a kind of noise.

world. We take one function, i.e. this chair.

So I wonder about whether we ll bring about a

It is here to sit on, so we mustn t use it for

revolution, stuff like that.

anything else. If we have this sense of there–

being no leeway, how can we internally

Ryuichi Ono (Artist)

receive external relations and roles? How

From The nature of noise music, Timeline page

can we accept things that fall outside theJune 18, 2018

standard?
–
Ichirota Suzuki (Director, Large, Small & Ref)
From Living local: what we can offer the local
community through practices on the front lines of
education, TURN FES 4

Words with TURN

August 18, 2018

Expression of intentionDifferent sensibilities

Words with TURN

Daily communication that hurts people ̶ maybe
everyone has experienced something along thoselines, but I really experienced it with my family.
To me, a family is a group in which the cultureof each individual is very different. They havedifferent cultures, but they live together. I think it s

A variety of exhibits are set up side by side.

a mistaken idea that people are naturally able to

There s a feeling of coexistence among diverse

understand one another because they re related

people. In that environment, people can learn

by blood; and I think there are people who don t

about one another s sensibilities, which arehave a mental image of a big, happy family circle

informed by different values. It s likely that thewhere all is warm and cozy. I had something

type of interaction will also differ from one

different in mind ̶ an expanded family image...

person to the next.

diverse people who are there even though they re–not sure about things. That was the starting point

Mariko Tanaka (TURN Supporter)of the concept of Yama Yama Art Center*.

From a review meeting for TURN FES 4 Supporters–

September 10, 2018

Mari Ishiwata (Artist /Director of Yama Yama Art Center)
From Yomoyamabanashi (wide-ranging conversation) –vision of an art center created by migration, TURN FES 4
August 18, 2018
*Yama Yama Art Center is a project based amid the mountains ofnorthern Kyoto prefecture, this project aims to bring together thestrengths of diverse people and live life with energy through art.

An expanded family image

Words with TURN

Confession of discomfort

Words with TURN

When someone who is foreign to a placegoes there regularly, at some point they are nolonger foreign. That s a pity...
That s why we do a variety of activities in the
programs. We carry out unexpected events.
–(Regarding Sato s own booth, in which a visitor enters a small

Tomoko Matsumoto (Certified Social Worker/

wooden room equipped with a phone and Sato and the visitor

Speech-Language-Hearing Therapist)

converse on either side of a wall) I had the strange sensationthat the more I spoke, the farther away the other person
felt. My activity is usually based on communication,

From Encounters of heterogeneity: compatibility
between artists and the front lines of rehabilitation,
TURN FES 4
August 17, 2018

and at the root of that is the feeling that the more
we talk, the less we convey,

the more we talk, theless we understand each other, andin the end,

communication may not be possible.

In spite of that,

I still want to share my thoughts and feelings, so I
assumed an attitude of attempting to communicate, andin this installation I felt that I had truly arrived at thatparadoxical kind of sensation. Since I m the one who
devised the structure of the installation ̶ Actually,
you re talking with someone on the other side of awall ̶ I should have had a good understanding of it;
but the longer the conversation went on, the less sure I
felt about where the other person was. That aspect wasvery interesting, and I was able to experience the feelingthat this is what communication really is.
–
Yu Sato (Artist)
From Confession of discomfort, Timeline page
September 7, 2018

No longer foreign

Words with TURN

Bodies thatstart moving before thinking

I often thought repeatedly about why I want to

Words with TURN

take the photos. Sometimes the reason changed
continually as I faced my subjects. Rather than thesubject changing for me, I thought that if I didn t
There are times when the side effects of a drug theychange, the relationship wouldn t change. I spenttake regularly stiffens their expression, and make it

quite a lot more time together with the hospitaldifficult to express in words what they think or feel.

patients who were participating in the project than

When facility users are engaging in hand conversation,

I did taking pictures.

an activity designed to create non-verbal communication

I think that what we shared there can go on

through hand movement only. The waves that flowchanging in various places. When I m creating athrough the body in various forms present as expressions.

piece, what s important for me is looking inside

There are moments when consciousness suddenly falls

and looking outside.

away; a profound silence as if they ve started to fall–asleep; and just when you think they re in a different

Naoko Tamura (Photographer)

place, that moment they come back when called,

From Art initiatives by psychiatric hospitals,
TURN FES 4

and various scenes are changing. Things that they are

August 19, 2018

not even aware of themselves, movements they makeunintentionally, interruptions happening: to what extent
is this about them or the other person? Confused,illogical behavior with no basis and no direction. The
person involved also has a look on their face like How(did this happen)? Everyone around suddenly laughs. Youmight have good intentions, i.e. to do things properly, or
to understand and cover details, but you can get bogged
around wastes the opportunity of the moment.
–
Kentaro Onishi (Dancer)
From A spirit unreliant on answers, a body that starts moving
before thinking, Timeline page
January 17, 2018

Looking inside,

down in over-enthusiasm. Having said that, just messing

looking outside

Words with TURN

The power to imagine

As in the case of schools, exam preparation

Words with TURN

schools and households, roles are quite rigidly
determined. Subjects like Japanese,arithmetic, science, and social studies also
have very strict objectives set down, and fields
are separated from one another from the time
Artists are people who understand the knack

we re young children.

of switching on the power of imagining. Just

But I think a human being is a single unified

like a physical therapist pressing trigger

whole, an entire entity. After all, music isn t

points, they massage the trigger points

only about sounds. As a human experience,that bring out creativity in facility users andit reverberates not only in the sense ofstaff members, letting them know that they

hearing, but in our minds and hearts, andtoo can be artists.

influences many things. I d like to make this a

So when an artist goes into a facility, theprogram where each person is perceived andpower to create is generated among people

encountered as a unified whole, rather thanaround the artist. You can do this, youclassified in terms of school subjects or adultcan do that, and while you re having theseroles.

thoughts, you can move your hands as you–

imagine yourself three minutes ahead. And

Miho Miyashita (Executive Director of the nonprofit

and you are able to imagine that the youof yesterday, today and tomorrow will bedifferent for sure. Being able to imagine
tomorrow stimulates the power and energy
to live.
–organization Artfull Action)

A unified wholethen the time that stopped starts to move,

Katsuhiko Hibino (TURN Supervisor)
Words with TURN

From TURN FES 4 Opening talkAugust 17, 2018

From On the streets: Presenting the community
with practices from the front line of education,
TURN FES 4
August 18, 2018

Words with TURN

Hand chat

When we were doing hand conversation,

I entered (the TURN FES 4 venue) without

an activity designed to create communication

knowing anything and feeling perplexed, andthrough hand movement without words. One

at the same time... there are people from otheruser from Hibari Group who happened to be

countries, works by people with disabilities...

next to me started grabbing Onishi s hair.

all getting together... somehow I have a very

Artist Onishi went along with this, andcurious feeling. I don t know why, but it s as

continued with the exercise while he tasted his

if I were experiencing it all with my arms held

hair, but a staff member next to him tapped H sout wide... that kind of feeling.

shoulders and head, trying to draw attention–

elsewhere.

Visitor at TURN FES 4This one-to-one activity hand conversation

Dialogue at Yu Sato s booth

was cut by hand interruption of anotherAugust 19, 2018

person, then there was hand stop and again
hand interruption happened behind them.
Finally five people ultimately got involved in
the activity.
the same time I felt those watching had beenable to share a feeling of widening our focus,
which had been centered on the two doing thehand conversation, to the hand chat offive people instead.
–

A curious feeling

While it was a somewhat comical scene, atAtsushi Miyata (Artist)
Words with TURN

From Hand chat, Timeline page
February 21, 2018

Words with TURN

A patient at our hospital had assigned himself

actually change in some way. Organizers may

the daily work of collecting seedlings fromneed some sort of evaluation criteria forthe ground. During his stay at the hospital, hepositive points, but what is considered thewould go into the mountains around the hospitalright thing to have?

without permission and pull out seedlings... But

While change itself is fine, to put it in an

there were no planting pots at the hospital, so

extreme way, it isn t even possible to judge

he would get empty cup ramen containers fromwhether something is going in the right or thetrash cans and replant the seedlings in them.

wrong direction.

From the perspective of the nurses and standard

The value placed on change ̶ that may

hospital procedure, this was problem behavior.

actually be the essence of TURN.

But (contemporary artist) Kouo Uehara said, Why–

not make it a work of art? This led us to ask

Yasuaki Igarashi (Artist)
From TURN FES 4 Artist Talk
August 18, 2018

Daily routine and standard procedure

The value of change

Things that we think might stay the same

the question, Who gets to decide what s theordinary, or what s common sense?
–
Keiko Watanabe(Occupational Therapist at Fukuroda Hospital)
From Art initiatives by psychiatric hospitals, TURN FES 4
August 19, 2018

Words with TURN

Looking at the uninhibited environment of

The most important thing they created was a

TURN where people can freely express

time of anticipation. Through Frog writing athemselves made me think how concepts likeletter, Toad, who was desperate because anormal and discipline have a ponderous

letter hadn t come, had his time of waiting forpresence in society where we don t realize it.

a letter changed from a time of despair to a–time of hope. The act of creating something

TURN FES 4 Supporter(a letter in this case) led to change (in time).

From notes

The two of them sit down in front their door

August 19, 2018

and wait for four days, but the important
happy. When we create something, our eyes
tend to be drawn to the finished product. But
actually I think the most important thing ischanging the quality of time: i.e. the act of
creation itself, or how the quality of the timespent making it was full of hope, and whether
it was fun to make.
–
Hiroshi Fuji (Artist)
From TURN Meeting No. 6
October 27, 2018

Words with TURN

Changing the quality of timesentence is They sat there feeling very

Where we don t realize it

Words with TURN

What Frog and Toad created was not a letter.

I also create material for the stage, andAs mentioned in the title of Nicolas Philibert s

performances are seemingly often afilm La moindre des choses (Every Little Thing),

connection of smooth and polished parts.

always picking up the little things and theBut in fact the creative process takes a hugethings that people don t notice and sharing

incidents happen. Ideas come and go daily,

Words with TURN

and there are plenty of moments when I thinkof something good ̶ I just don t have thepower to get it all down on paper. Looking
at TURN NOTE made me think how well thecreative process is put together.
Ryohei Kondo(Choreographer/Dancer/Condors Leader)
From TURN Meeting No. 5
May 13, 2018

Words with TURN

How well the process is put together–

Sharing with everyone

amount of time, and this is when all sorts ofwith everyone is what creates a place orenvironment. This is the philosophy of Jean
Oury (the psychiatrist and founder of La Borde clinic
where I used to be visiting) and what he always said.

–
Naoko Tamura (Photographer)
From TURN FES 4 Artist Talk
August 18, 2018

is increasing attention on art brut, outsider
art, and art by people with disabilities. Up to
now these things have been described fromthe perspectives of artists and art critics orthe social welfare community. But there has
not been sufficient research focusing on the

The person in question and their families

You can t tell by looking whether people haveintellectual disabilities and developmental
disorders; each individual s condition andcircumstances are different. Rather than ask
them if they can describe their condition or
circumstances in words, a good way to meeta child for the first time is to find out how theyspent their time: this creates an environment

the people in question for so long; how thefor you to understand the child. Without thatfamilies have changed; and the relationships

environment, even if people around want toamong artworks and their creators and thefamily members around them. That is why I
would like to interview various family members

Words with TURN

Words with TURN

effects on the families who have lived with

A good way to meet

Because of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there

give some help, it is difficult to approach thechild. I hope that by interacting with children,
we can provide an understanding of theirof artists with disabilities.

conditions/circumstances.

––

Rika Takahashi (Graduate Student)

Tomoko Matsumoto

From The Sister Tour*, TURN FES 4(Social Worker / Speech-Language-Hearing Therapist)

August 19, 2018

From Encounters of heterogeneity: compatibility*The Sister Tour is a tour facilitated by graduate student Rika

between artists and the front lines of rehabilitation,

Takahashi, whose older sister has autism in which participants

TURN FES 4

enjoy conversation among themselves in tandem with sharing her
intimate memories with the elder sister and interviews of people inthe venue.

August 17, 2018

the artists are tackling things like people there

Today s hypovarious things. Not everything goes well, andthesisWhen artists go to facilities, they often fail at

not knowing what they are doing, or what the
between the artist in this condition withwelfare.
I believe that seeing artists in this condition

agitation, or things that bother or interest us in
the moment. Maybe this is close to a flash

more challenges. Certainly nobody wants toof light. When you are moved by something,

fail, but if we do, it s not really all that bad.

trying to convey how you feel to someone

I hope as artists we introduce a culture ofgives your feelings an outline for the first time.

innovation into the welfare industry and among–its employees.

Atsushi Miyata (Artist)–

From Today s hypothesis, Timeline page

Ichirota Suzuki (Director, Large, Small & Ref)

February 7, 2018

January 28, 2018

Words with TURN

I feel that we quickly forget minor emotional

might inspire people at facilities to rise to even

From TURN Meeting No. 4

innovation

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outcome will be. I want to draw a connection

A culture of

facilities throughout Japan, the entry and exit
barriers come down and all sorts of people
are free to go in and out. Artists are there

I want to make them thepeople can come and go as they please. At

protagonists

Barriers to all cultural facilities disappear andImagine the following problem, for example. A

values of each person through that person spreschool is going to be opened, but things aren t

special qualities is a distinctive characteristicof art. I believe the fact that distinctive
communities are connecting through artists

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to help bring this about. Transmitting thegoing smoothly because of complaints from local
residents. People will say, That s outrageous. The
local residents are being too self-centered. But

with these special characteristics will surely

some of the people I interact with on a daily basis

be a foundation of the next new society, andmay be among those who think, I don t want a

I would like to make TURN a catalyst for thispreschool here. Maybe they seal up their apartment

phenomenon.

windows and close the curtains, and just when–

they re feeling calm and peaceful, they re startled

Katsuhiko Hibino (TURN Supervisor)

by children s voices outside. They get to the point

From TURN Meeting No. 4

where they can t take it anymore, and makeJanuary 28, 2018

repeated phone calls, saying, Don t open thepreschool! Things like that. Isn t that why they
aren t so well liked by the community?
(text omitted)

People who the community may regard astroublesome; I want to make them the protagonists.
–
Katsunori Shinzawa (Director of Harmony*)
Words with TURN

From Discussion by a psychiatric social worker and acommunity designer about community, welfare and art
project, TURN FES 4
August 19, 2018
*Harmony, located in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, is a Support for Continuous
Employment (Type B) designated facility for a maximum of 20 users,
managed by the nonprofit organization Yattoko.

Barriers come down

Suitable things(Giving an example of a doll with plastic tape wound

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around it, one of the objects made by her older sister,
who has autism) Before, my family had only

thought of trying to get her to stop making
them, so if someone ask me if this is art, I
don t really know yet. But our perspective
changed from thinking that making the objects

Children with disabilities are seen by society

was a problem and that we had to get her

as inferior, but when they find something thatto stop, to thinking that they re actually kindinterests them or they encounter somethingof nice. Our preoccupation about getting

they like, they can concentrate and carry on

her to stop has softened and turned into anwith something. They can perform some things

affirmative attitude.

not just as being inferior.

–

If it comes to that, another way of looking at it

Rika Takahashi (Graduate Student)

would be to say that adults who don t prepare

From The Sister Tour, TURN FES 4

anything suitable for them lack capability. It

August 19, 2018

makes me think about the life trajectory ofthese children all over again.
–
Kumiko Hamazaki (Director of Kanamachi Gakuen)
From an e-mailAugust 26, 2018

Kind of niceWords with TURN

Who is happy about this?

It will be an enriching mixture. When thinking

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ahead about how we should mix, I don t
think about the distinction made by broad
terms such as a handicapped person or a nonhandicapped person; I think more about thekind of bearing and behavior of people when
they enjoy a rich life or a fulfilling or relaxing

I got involved in TURN as an artist, and whentime. I think this bearing and behavior can be

I found there was a difference between theseen in the future direction TURN is heading

objectives of the artist and the objectives ofin; I see hope in experiments along these lines

the facility, it was a real dilemma for me, orat the TURN LAND facility, part of a huge,rather a conflict. The more I tried to get down

huge concept.

to some serious work, the more I placed a–burden on facility staff members and facility

Tsukasa Mori (TURN Project Director)

users. It defeats the purpose. They seemed to

From Art initiatives by psychiatric hospitals,

be having a hard time, and because I felt bad

TURN FES 4

for causing them such trouble I decided not toAugust 19, 2018

push my luck. But facility users got on board
to a surprising extent. The dilemma for me
was wondering who was happy about this,when the artist and facility users were so
involved in something that facility users andstaff members couldn t do their daily work.
–
Daisuke Yamashiro (Artist / Video Director)
From TURN Meeting No. 4
January 28, 2018

Bearing and behavior

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Words with TURN

Paths thateveryone must take

People with disabilities came to art. We
weren t the ones who went there; they were
the ones who came. Of their own volition.
It would be good if we could create this typeof environment somewhere. There s no place
to make art now. If this type of space could
be created, I think it would be ideal for her

Everyone treads the path of either old age or(Satomi Okamoto, an with autism and former student

disability, don t they? That and aging. And we llof Ise who participated in TURN FES4). I m sure itprobably also experience multiple disabilities.

would be an environment that also influences

Communities consisting solely of people who treat

the artists who share the space and make theirold age and disability as if they belong to a world

work there.

with no relation to themselves is unfortunate for

But the way she creates her works is ̶ how

those communities, regardless of whether it is a

can I put it ? ̶ like a natural phenomenon. It

bad thing for the facilities themselves.

isn t volition or something like that.

I think it s an unhappy situation that a community–

should be peopled only with those who are utterly

Katsuya Ise (Artist)

indifferent to the fact that they will experience

From TURN Walk, TURN FES 4

one or the other, or that people older than themAugust 19, 2018

are having these experiences now. Whether
you are for or against, we have to think about
how communities, welfare and caregiving areconnected.
–
Ryo Yamazaki(Director of studio-L /Community Designer/Social Worker)
From Discussion by a psychiatric social worker and a

Creationcommunity designer about community, welfare and art
project, TURN FES 4
August 19, 2018like a natural phenomenon

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Among the staff, there are quite a few people who

Words with TURN

disorders. I ve known some who were able to eat,but throw up their food immediately.
I ve always created works that suggest the fun
and pleasure of eating, but for people like them, I
and my work must seem like some kind of enemy.

Artists feel a low psychological wall when they

I had a feeling of something conflicting, so fromcomes to social welfare ̶ so why do we feelthere I got interested and did a bit of research on

such a high wall in regard to art and feel that it seating disorders.

so difficult to surmount?

–(text omitted)

EAT & ART TARO (Artist)

Even when I think about taking the children at my

From Research Program Report Meeting

workplace out to a place like a museum, I tend to

March 5, 2018

hold myself back. The reason may be that whenI return to the workplace, I won t have the skills
required to communicate the experience, so I mafraid there will be differences in awareness andknowledge among the staff members.
–
Yukako Fujii(Facility for Children with Disabilities Staff member)
From TURN supporters study meeting

Something conflicting

May 23, 2018

Low wall/high wall

don t like eating. People with so-called eating

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not often you can stay still in a place with so

on for some hours, chatting to Cocoroom*

many people coming and going.

president, Kanayo Ueda. She told me about a–rather annoying and common incident that

Ichirota Suzuki (Director, Large, Small & Ref)

happens in the Kamagasaki neighborhood in

From Between Support and Creative Expression,

Nishinari (Osaka).

TURN FES 4

The police respond but we never press

August 18, 2018

charges. If the same thing happens again thenext day, we just get the police to come again.
We don t press charges. You see, the person
causing the trouble is actually the person who
is in the most trouble.
The way she said this so matter-of-factly, I felt
I had seen into her heart or the feelings at hervery core, and this is strongly engraved on mymemory. Ever since that day, I remember her
words whenever I encounter a trying situation.
–

Staying still

Tsukasa Mori (TURN Project Director)
From a TURN internal management meeting
Early October 2018
*Cocoroom is a cafe and guest house rooted in Kamagasaki in
Nishinari, Osaka. It provides a place for people to meet, express
themselves creatively and learn together.

Words with TURN

I was relaxing after an interview that went

People in trouble

You forget it s an art museum, bit by bit... it s

Words with TURN

Hibino and all the staff members had a different

way of speaking) asked me for directions and I

attitude, or should I say stance, towards Satomi

didn t know what to do... if I had met them bythan I have as her mother. They acceptedchance, I would have thought, I wish I knew

Satomi s personality and conversed with her insign language or I wish I knew a little of theiran ordinary way, regardless of the presence or

language, but... there s no point in thinking

absence of a disability. When I saw Mr. Hibinothat kind of thing. What I have here and now...

ask Satomi, Where are you taking it? I wasinteracting with the people who are here at thisunexpectedly moved by the fact that he asked

moment is all I can do. I realized that feelingher Where? and not What? He was good

was something I don t usually experience. It

at eliciting her ideas and feelings as well. Whenreally made an impression on me.

Satomi was attending Joshibi and spoke with–

Mr. Ise and the other instructors in the sculpture

Chikako Wajima (TURN FES 4 Supporter)

seminar, her facial expression was calm andFrom TURN supporters study meeting
May 23, 2018

relaxed. I think this was also due to their stance(towards her). For some time after she graduatedfrom Joshibi, she didn t have the benefit of thiskind of environment. When she participated in
TURN, it was the first time in quite a while that

Words with TURN

she was in an environment that was so wonderfulfor her.
–
Takako Okamoto (Mother of Satomi Okamoto)
From an e-mailNovember 27, 2018

Words with TURN

example if someone (who didn t understand my

Where?

In the TURN event, I realized that Mr. Ise, Mr.

What I have

If I hadn t been in TURN FES 4 venue, for

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ProfileKageki Asakura

course at Joshibi College of Art and Design,

Takako Okamoto

Shure University Staff member | Shure University

Joshibi University of Art and Design.

Mother of Satomi Okamoto who in 2005

has been part of the TURN project since 2015.

................................................................

entered Joshibi College of Art and Design, where

For many years he has provided learning support

EAT & ART TARO

artist Katsuya Ise was an instructor.

activities for young people with life challenges

Artist | Having worked at restaurants after................................................................

such as hikikomori social withdrawal and non-graduating from cooking school, he now does

Midori Kubota

attendance at school.

catering and food workshops at places like art

Director of Authorized the nonprofit organization................................................................

galleries and museums, as well as engaging in

Creative Support Lets | In 2015 she took part

Yasuaki Igarashi

café production.

in TURN FES with artist Tohru Nakazaki, andArtist | Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1978. Earned................................................................

attended the TURN Center concept meeting ina master s degree from Tokyo University of the

Shuko Ebihara

2016.

Arts Graduate School. With the cooperation of

Director of kuriya / Interpreter | Ebihara had................................................................

local people, Igarashi carries out art projects thata multicultural upbringing in Peru, the United

Ryohei Kondo

transform the landscape in various regions by

Kingdom and Japan. After graduating from Keio

Choreographer/Dancer/Condors leader |connecting local life and the natural environment

University, she worked at the Japan Foundation

Heads the all-male dance company the Condors,in an aesthetically beautiful way.

and an agency of the United Nations. In 2009

who create dance, videos and skits in gakuran................................................................

she launched an art project for migrant children,

high school uniforms. He takes a variety ofMari Ishiwata

and she organizes programs for multicultural

approaches to his efforts towards contributing

Artist /Director of Yama Yama Art Center |community creation and human resources

to society via contemporary dance. Projects

Born in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture indevelopment.

include Condors no asoiku keikaku (The Condors'

1983. Lives in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture.

................................................................

Playing and Learning Plan) with NHK Educational,

After studying sociology at Keio University and

Kentaro Onishiconcerts for young children centered on

studying painting at Setsu Mode Seminar, she

Artist /Dancer | Born in 1985. After graduatingaudience participation; and Handles: dance

carried out a one-year residency in the Basquefrom the Inter-media Art Department of Tokyo

performances with people with disabilities in aregion of northern Spain in 2008 on a grant

University of the Arts Graduate School, Onishi

project sponsored by the Saitama prefecturalfrom the foundation BilbaoArte. Based in aestablished his activity base in the Yanaka

government.

large area of northern Kyoto Prefecture, she isneighborhood of Tokyo. A performer who................................................................

engaged in developing the vision of the Yama

continually seeks the spirit of dance when

Yu SatoYama Art Center.

uncovering the charm of places, people andArtist | Born in Mie Prefecture in 1985. Based................................................................

customs, he gives dance performances on theon the theme of communication, Sato creates

Katsuya Ise

theme of

Artist | Born in Morioka city, Iwate Prefecture................................................................

conversation. Recently he has been interested

in 1960. In 1986 he completed his masters in

Ryuichi Onoin the behavior of art appreciation, and has

design at the Fine Arts Research Department ofMusician | Ono studied contemporary

implemented unique art appreciation programs inTokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School ofcomposition, music history and musicala number of art museums.

Fine Arts. He creates works on the theme of theaesthetics at the Department of Composition,................................................................

forms made by objects and images that occur

Tokyo University of the Arts. He currently

Katsunori Shinzawa

and exist in various environments like nature,

conducts practical research on listening theory

Director of Harmony | Manages Harmony, amanmade settings, and media spaces. He alsowith a focus on the creation of contemporary

facility where people living with mental illnesses

runs a variety of workshops. He is currently

music pieces, crossing diverse genres such as

including schizophrenia can spend time just as

professor in charge of media for the design

exhibition and stage performance in the process.

they wish.

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wind.

expressive forms that involve speech and––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

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Ichirota Suzuki

for children with disabilities.

engaged in the operation of projects by Koganei

Keiko Watanabe

Director, Large, Small & Ref | Born in................................................................

Artfull Action! (Koganei City Arts Culture Promotion

Occupational Therapist | Born in Tochigi

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture. After 10 years

Hiroshi Fuji

Project), supported by Koganei City, Tokyo.

Prefecture in 1980. Graduated from theworking in the United Kingdom as an artist,

Artist / Vice-president and professor at Akita................................................................

Occupational Therapy Department of theat early of Creative Support Lets Suzuki was

University of Art | Born in Kagoshima Prefecture

Atsushi Miyata

International University of Health and Welfare

chiefly in charge of planning, in collaborationin 1960. After immersing himself in theater as

Artist | Born in 1984 in Aichi Prefecture andin 2002. Staff member of Medical Corporation

with various areas of the Takeshi Cultural Centera student at the Kyoto City University of Arts,

resident in Tokyo. Completed postgraduate

Chokushi-kai since 2005. As a university

project he drew up together with Takafumi

he explored frontline artistic expression in thestudies at Aichi University of the Arts, Graduate

student, Watanabe participated in the launch

Fukasawa. Suzuki also serves as culture

form of projects in various locations to fulfill

School of Fine Arts in 2009. Miyata finds

and operation of an employment support-related

program coordinator for Shizuoka Prefecture,

his aspiration of doing local community-based

creative opportunities in the scrutiny ofNPO. She has been a staff member of Fukuroda

and Representative director of the nonprofit

creative work. After completing a masters at

differences in relationships with other people

Hospital s current day care program (Atelierorganization Cocoroom.

Kyoto City University of Arts he went to work inthrough workshops and drawings, as seen in

HOLOS) since 2009.

................................................................

Papua New Guinea at the National Arts School,

projects like his interactive and playful Bibuncho................................................................

Rika Takahashi

where he encountered primitive art andbook project for children and adults.

Katsuhiko Hibino

Graduate Student | A younger sister of a personsociology. After a stint in a redevelopment and................................................................

TURN Supervisor /Artist | Born in Gifu Prefecturewith autism, she carried out The Sister Toururban planning office following the collapse of

Ryo Yamazaki

in 1958, Hibino has acted as Supervisor ofin which participants share her intimate memory

the bubble economy, he studied land and city

Director of studio-L /Community Designer/

the TURN projects since it began in Tokyo inwith the elder sister, and exchange dialogue as

issues. He now practices dialogue and regional

Certified Social Worker | Born in Aichi

2015. He also serves as Dean of the Faculty of

they ramble through TURN FES 4 venue.

experiment through demonstration-style

Prefecture in 1973, Yamazaki is a graduate ofFine Arts and Professor of the Department of................................................................

artistic expression based on his ethos, regional

Osaka Prefecture University Graduate School

Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts, as

Mariko Tanaka

resources, aptitude technology and cooperativeand University of Tokyo Graduate School, andwell as director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu

TURN supporter | University staff member.

relationships.

holds a doctorate in engineering. After a stint

and Chairman of the Japan Football Association's

Participated as a supporter in TURN FES 4.

................................................................

at an architecture and landscape design office,Committee for Social Responsibility.

................................................................

Yukako Fujii

in 2005 he formed studio-L, a community................................................................

Naoko Tamura

Staff member, TURN Operation Headquarters |design company offering innovative solutions to

Tsukasa Mori

Photographer | Born in Tokushima Prefecture.

Works in the facility for children with disabilities

help communities tackle local issues.

TURN Project Director/Project Coordination

Kyoto-based Tamura exhibits in Japanin Aichi Prefecture which runs activities such................................................................

Division Program Director, Arts Council Tokyo |and overseas, primarily in the medium of

as after-school programs. Fujii is a second-

Daisuke Yamashiro

As director, Mori is involved in the planningphotography, in which she continues to takegeneration student in the Diversity on the Arts

Artist | Born in 1983 in Osaka Prefecture, lives

and operation of art projects in collaboration

pictures of her subjects over a long time. Her

Project (DOOR), a certification program ofand works in Nagoya Prefecture. He applies

with NPOs and other groups, as well as human

work includes abstract color images, portraits,

Tokyo University of the Arts.

the concept of time in video footage to various

resource development and research project

and books La Forêt de Sologne (Igaku-shoin Care................................................................

spaces and projects in order to create a version

Tokyo Art Research Lab, and Art Support

series). She has collaborated with numerous

Tomoko Matsumotooftime that can only be experienced thenTohoku-Tokyo: a project implementing artistic

artists, from French filmmakers to musicians. She

Head of Nearai Gakuen, Hamamatsu | Nearai

and there. He is a lecturer in the Department

program in disaster-stricken communities, co-also heads up the art and film-based collective,

Gakuen is treats and cares for preschool-agedof Art Studies and Cultural Production, Kyoto

organized by Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
................................................................

Vutter Kohen.

children. Matsumoto is a certified social worker

University of Art and Design.

................................................................

and speech-language-hearing therapist.

................................................................

Kumiko Hamazaki................................................................

Chikako Wajima

Director of Kanamachi Gakuen | Provides

Miho Miyashita

TURN FES 4 Supporter / Kindergarten Teacher |support to hearing-impaired children as head of

Executive director of the nonprofit organization

Participated as a supporter in TURN FES 4.

Kanamachi Gakuen, a residential welfare facility

Artfull Action | Since 2011 Miyashita has been................................................................

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TURN NOTE
Words with TURN 2018––
March 13, 2019–
Editorial Supervisor: Tsukasa Mori (Project Director of TURN, Arts Council Tokyo)
Editor: Mitsuhiro Nagase, Riko Okuyama (Coordinator of TURN, Arts Council Tokyo)
Editorial Cooperator: Arts Council Tokyo［Satsuki Asano, Maria Hata］
the nonprofit organization Art s Embrace［Eriko Amo, Kanako Iwanaka, Yuki Tamura,
Takuto Higashino, Makoto Higashino, Yukako Fujii, Kaori Motojima, Marina Yamaguchi］
Design: Genki Abe
Translation: Office Miyazaki
Printing: Yamada Photo Process–
Published by: Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture）
Kudan First Place 8F, 4-1-28, Kudankita, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 102-0073
Tel: 03-6256-8435 /Fax: 03-6256-8829
Email: info@turn-project.com
URL: www.artscouncil-tokyo.jp–
TURN official site: http://turn-project.com––––©2019 Arts Council Tokyo
Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture
All rights reserved