Tokyo University of the Arts and Taito and Sumida Cities have implemented a special project titled "GTS (Geidai, Taito, Sumida) Sightseeing Art Project," which joins local communities from the Tokyo Sky Tree to Asakusa areas by art. In 2010, in addition to exhibitions and concerts, works created by students and instructors were exhibited at workshops, in which community residents participated, and some viewpoints.
Q: How do you foster interaction with other art colleges?
Miyata: I want to promote collaborations with a variety of art colleges in Japan. In December 2010, "A Symposium by the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs and Presidents ofNational and Public Art Colleges in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area" was held as one of the attempts. Seiichi Kondo, Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, and presidents and instructors at 29 art colleges participated in the symposium, and exchanged views and made proposals on art colleges' roles and possibilities for the strengthening of the national power through the promotion of art and cultures. Regarding exchanges with overseas art colleges, we aim to send out art and cultures from East Asia to the West, and deepen exchanges with art colleges in other countries. Also, we have foreign students study at other art colleges. For example, we encourage foreign students to study in Kyoto, and then go back to Tokyo. I want them to develop a love for Japan, and hope that Japan will be their second home country.
An elegant open-air cafe and "Geidai Art Plaza," an art shop, in which works and books by Tokyo University of the Arts' instructors and students are placed, are located next to the Masaki Memorial Gallery in the grounds of the Faculty of Fine Arts. Also, there are "Oura Shokudo," or Oura restaurant, that is a place of recreation and relaxation for students, a museum shop and a museum cafe run by Hotel Okura Tokyo in the University Art Museum.
"Springen Necktie" designed by President Ryohei Miyata is sold at Geidai Art Plaza.
Tokyo University of the Arts and Taito and Sumida Cities have implemented a special project titled "GTS (Geidai, Taito, Sumida) Sightseeing Art Project," which joins local communities from the Tokyo Sky Tree to Asakusa areas by art. In 2010, in addition to exhibitions and concerts, works created by students and instructors were exhibited at workshops, in which community residents participated, and some viewpoints.
