(Audience at the event “Where is the Planetary? / A Gathering / In Collaboration with Koki Tanaka”.  Date: October 14-16, 2022. Commissioned by Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), Berlin.)

The Covid-19 pandemic drastically reshaped prevailing concepts and practices regarding mobility. This raises the question of how we can rethink the basic concept of mobility after experiencing global travel restrictions during the pandemic and amidst the dramatically increasing threat of the climate crisis.

Through an experimental gathering that reflects multiple key aspects of mobility via the viewpoints of several ‘experts’ who have gained knowledge of mobility at different levels, from scientific research to everyday practice, Tanaka will facilitate an open discussion around the keywords care and ethics, which he sees as closely related to the concept of mobility.

In his artistic practice, Koki Tanaka has dedicated himself to exploring questions of togetherness and creating spaces for discourse among people with diverse roots, values and cultural backgrounds. In recent years, he has been working on gatherings where people of various cultural and intellectual backgrounds come together to discuss a theme.

The entire gathering will be filmed, edited by Tanaka, and presented as a video work in July. The psychological effect of the filming will be key to unlocking the experts’ stories. The filming will not only capture their intentional actions, but also their behavior, including slippages and missteps, and reveal social, historical, and institutional aspect of human activities. The gathering will remain as a work of visual art and a vivid and sincere document of how we address this urgent issue of our time.

We hope you will join us for this rare opportunity to experience Koki Tanaka’s film shooting.

Profile of Koki Tanaka

Artist, born in 1975. Through multiple ways, including films and reflective writings, Tanaka engages in artistic practice that rethinks the nature of collaboration and community under the theme of “how to live together.” Recently, his practice has focused on the perspective of care, especially childcare. Tanaka has exhibited extensively, including at the Aichi Triennale 2019, Migros Museum (Zurich), Skulptur Projekte Münster 2017, the 57th Venice Biennale 2017, and the 55th Venice Biennale 2013. He received a special mention for his national participation at the 55th Venice Biennale, in 2013, and was Deutsche Bank's "Artist of the Year" in 2015. Recent publications include Reflective Notes: Recent Writings (2020), Vulnerable Histories (An Archive) (2018) and Precarious Practice (2015).

Outline of the film shooting

Dates: Saturday, March 16 and Sunday, March 17, 2024

(A part of the filming will be open to the public. Reservation required, free of charge. Details below).

Venue: Former Toyama Akasaka Kaikan (7-5-51 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052)

Artist: Koki Tanaka

Dramaturgical Advisor: Martin Germann  (Adjunct Curator, Mori Art Museum)

Experts: Erina Imai, Yayo Okano, Hiroko Katayama, Susanne Klien, Gergely Mohacsi, Mahmoud Al-Shaer* (tentative), Tomoko Shimizu, Miwa Negoro*, Atsuro Morita*, Tami Yanagisawa, Eva von Redecker*. (Those marked with * will participate per video recording.)

Organizer: Delegation of the European Union to Japan

Operated by: Goethe-Institut Tokyo

Timetable of filming sessions open to the public

(Subject to change. Please check the reservation page for the latest details.)

Saturday, March 16

- Public film shooting 1, 14:00-16:00　

Theme: "Can Care Practice Gain Mobility? Community and Care”  

*14:00-15:00 All experts join (languages: Japanese and English, without interpretation)

*15:00-16:00 Some experts join (language: Japanese)

- Public film shooting 2, 17:00-18:30

Theme: "Is Ethical Mobility Possible? Climate Change and Existence”

*Experts will be divided into two groups, one Japanese and one English, to discuss the theme.

Application to join the public Film Shooting via Peatix:

Please make a reservation by visiting https://caring-mobility.peatix.com/. Reservations will be closed when the maximum number of participants is reached (each session can accommodate approx. 30 people).

Inquiries regarding the event and how to participate:

Goethe-Institut Tokyo

Ms. Toda Fumiko, Production Manager　Fumiko.Toda.extern@goethe.de

Media inquiries

Kreab Tokyo, Ms. Sumi Nakamichi   EUJapan@kreab.com