dream-of-kiwanosato

The Dream of Kiwanosato is an ongoing project initiated by Okomoto-san, an 87 year old farmer living in Kiwanosato village. The ambition of his project is to draw in younger people to his small village that is facing a rapidly-ageing population, to join its vibrant community.
Okomoto-san invited Grizedale Arts to assist them in this ambitious goal.
Grizedale Arts undertook firstly a 10-day scoping residency on site with Fairland Collective including Brenda Kearney, Francesca Ulivi, Motoko Fujita (who grew up close to the village and has facilitated much of the project) and Tom Philipson, undertaking a busy programme that saw them teaching and learning new skills and creating village products, in collaboration with local residents.
This research trip culminated in the Expanded Dream Cafe - an exhibition of food, printing, ceramics, antiques and work undertaken in workshops.

As a result of these research the following projects developed the idea of the entire village being a school, one that could exchange skills (social and craft) with other villages in different parts of the world. This led to the initiative called 'The Confederacy of Villages'. its aim is to facilitate learning exchange on similar faced issues, such as housing, population and infrastructure. The project is set to become an ongoing host for a series of 'schools' in architecture, craft, hosting, collectivity and reinvention, each led by different groups from across the globe.

The Dream of Kiwanosato project is ongoing, joining various schools and universities locally and internationally.

Year: 2017 - ongoing
Place: Kiwanosato, JP
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