Architalk: Seeing the World through Architecture

I-House boasts a building constructed under the collaboration of three prominent modern Japanese architects, and from its inauguration has been receiving guests and members from the field of architecture. To expand this network, I-House launched a new program in 2016, the tenth anniversary of the extensive renovation of the building, inviting speakers from Japan and abroad to think about contemporary issues through architecture.

Architalk Webinar Series

The Architalk series aims to highlight how architecture both reflects and responds to critical issues around the globe, such as climate change, community building, and the development of an inclusive and barrier free society.

I-House kicked off its 2024 Architalk series with Theaster Gates, an artist, urban designer, and architect who worked to revitalize abandoned buildings and urban neighborhoods in Chicago and elsewhere through architecture and design.

Those who wish to receive detailed information on each session through the I-House e-news are asked to register through the e-news registration form.

Organizer: International House of Japan (IHJ)
Sponsor: Jyukankyo Foundation, MRA Foundation, US-Japan Foundation

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[Architalk Series 2024]
#1 Theaster Gates: Crafting Black Space

New Video

This video has Japanese subtitles. Go to Youtube Help for more details.

 

  • Speaker：Theaster GATES (Artist, Urban Designer)
  • Moderator：Mami KATAOKA (IHJ trustee and Mori Art Museum Director)
  • Release Date：March 29, 2024
  • Organizer：International House of Japan (IHJ)
  • Sponsor：Jyukankyo Foundation, MRA Foundation, US-Japan Foundation

In this talks titled “Theaster Gates: Crafting Black Space,” Gates discusses his placemaking practice that began with revitalizing a number of vacant old buildings in his hometown of Chicago into centers for art, as well as activities around Black space in Germany and Britain, that helped demonstrate the cultural value present in urban neighborhoods that experienced racially motivated divestment. He also talks about how the architectural spaces he creates architectural also function as works of art.


In addition to his lecture at I-House, Gates visited rural areas in Japan, such as Mashiko, Tochigi, for informal dialogue with local leaders and counterparts and to give a lecture in Kyoto about his ideas and work. Videos of his visits in Tochigi and Kyoto will be available online soon.

Theaster GATES (Artist, Urban Designer)
founded the nonprofit Rebuild Foundation in 2009 in Chicago and has been engaged in the project of revitalizing abandoned urban buildings into cultural institutions as an art practice. He was selected to design the 2022 Serpentine Pavilion, a work that brings a new perspective to art, architecture, and social practice. He has also produced a number of “Afro-Mingei” works, his philosophy that merges the Japanese folk art movement with the aesthetics of African American art.

Photo: Rankin

Mami KATAOKA (I-House trustee and Mori Art Museum Director)
joined the Mori Art Museum in 2003, taking on the role of Director in 2020. She has also taken on the position of Director of the National Center for Art Research since April 2023.Beyond Tokyo, Kataoka has held positions at the Hayward Gallery in London, where from 2007 to 2009 she was the institution’s first International Curator; she has also acted as Co-Artistic Director for the 9th Gwangju Biennale (2012), Artistic Director for the 21st Biennale of Sydney (2018) and Artistic Director for the Aichi Triennale 2022. Kataoka served as a Board Member (2014-2022). She is also a trustee of the International House of Japan since 2023.

  Past Architalk Events

[Architalk Series 2024 Podcast] Theaster Gates: Afro-Mingei

New Podcast

 

  • Speaker：Theaster GATES (Artist, Urban Designer)
  • Release Date：May 30, 2024
  • Organizer：International House of Japan (IHJ)
  • Sponsor：Jyukankyo Foundation, MRA Foundation, US-Japan Foundation

During his stay in Japan, Theaster Gates also visited a traditional tea manufacturer in Kyoto and the town of Mashiko in Tochigi, famous for its pottery, creating opportunities for dialogue with specialists involved in traditional culture. A podcast of his talk titled “Afro-Mingei,” held in Kyoto, is now available.

The Japanese mingei movement, developed by Muneyoshi Yanagi, Kanjiro Kawai, and Shoji Hamada, highlighted the beauty of hand-made crafts used in everyday life that was produced by nameless artisans. The “Black Is Beautiful” movement in the United States, meanwhile, emphasized the beauty embodied in the sources of African-American culture. Theaster Gates sees parallels and connections between these two movements and elucidated his ideas underlying his concept of “Afro-Mingei.”

Theaster GATES (Artist, Urban Designer)
founded the nonprofit Rebuild Foundation in 2009 in Chicago and has been engaged in the project of revitalizing abandoned urban buildings into cultural institutions as an art practice. He was selected to design the 2022 Serpentine Pavilion, a work that brings a new perspective to art, architecture, and social practice. He has also produced a number of “Afro-Mingei” works, his philosophy that merges the Japanese folk art movement with the aesthetics of African American art.

Photo: Rankin

  Past Architalk Events

[Architalk Series] by Award-Winning Sustainable Architect Xu Tiantian
“Wanwu — All Things”

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Architalk Series by Award-Winning Sustainable Architect Xu Tiantian “Wanwu — All Things”

 

Architalk lecture on March 7 will feature Xu Tiantian, one of the leading architects in China and 2023 laureate of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture. “Architecture is the living systems embedded in the local context that integrate the landscape, cultural traditions, local economies, and all things. Like the Taoist idea of Wanwu (lit. “all things”), or the universe, which emphasizes the unity and interdependence of all things, our built environment is an interconnected system, encompassing social, economic, and ecological frameworks, reassuring the human relation to nature and our own cultural and ancestral genealogy.” (Xu Tiantian) This will be a rare opportunity to hear Xu speak in Japan about her attempts to revitalize rural China by connecting architecture with culture and industry. Her initiatives can offer great insights into how Japan, too, can revive the countryside, which is experiencing a sharp decline in population. Xu will be joined onstage by special guest commentator Yoshiharu Tsukamoto of Atelier Bow-Wow.

 
  • Date：Friday, March 7, 6:30-8:00 pm (JST) *doors open at 6:00 pm
  • Speaker：Tiantian XU (Architect, Founder of DnA_Design & Architecture)
  • Guest commentator：Yoshiharu TSUKAMOTO (Architect, Founder of Atelier Bow-Wow)
  • Moderator：Yuko HASEGAWA（Director of Arts and Design at I-House; Director of Kanazawa 21st Century Museum）
  • Admission：3,000yen (IHJ members 2,000yen, Students 1,500yen) *reservations are required
  • Language：Japanese / English (with simultaneous interpretation)
  • Venue：International House of Japan
  • Organized by TheInternational House of Japan
  • Sponsored by The Jyukankyo Foundation, MRA Foundation

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    Tiantian XU

    Tiantian XU (Architect, Founder of DnA_Design & Architecture)
    is founding principal of DnA_Design and Architecture Beijing Office. She has been extensively involved in China's rural revitalization process. Her groundbreaking “architectural acupuncture” is a holistic approach to the social and economic revitalization of rural China, and has been selected by UN-Habitat as a case study for its “Inspiring Practices on Urban-Rural Linkages.” Her works include the modern renovation of a factory in Songyang County and the design of a memorial hall to promote rural tourism, the design of an art center for the Songzhuang Art Colony, an artist community outside of Beijing, the renovation of a Hakka Tulou in Fujian Province, and the reconstruction of a bridge across the Yangtze River in Zhejiang Province among many others. She received her Mmaster of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design, and her BA from Tsinghua University. She has received numerous awards such as 2006 WA China Architecture Award, 2008 Young Architects Award from The Architectural League New York, the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2023, she was appointed an Honorary Fellow of American Institute of Architects.

    Yoshiharu TSUKAMOTO
    Co-founder with Momoyo Kaijima of Tokyo-based architecture firm Atelier Bow-Wow in 1992. Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Science, director of General Incorporated Association Small Earth, and director of Window Research Institute. He works in diverse fields ranging from architecture, public spaces, furniture, field surveys, education, art exhibitions, curation, and writing. All his works are based on a theory called behaviorology that aims to reconstruct the commons by enhancing accessibility to local resources. He was awarded the Wolf Prize in architecture in 2022.

     


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    International House of Japan
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