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Contemporary art born on a former shipyard site|Kitakagaya now a base for artists

Kitakagaya in Suminoe-ku, a town in the western bay area of Osaka City, which until the 1970s was bustling with the shipbuilding industry, is now attracting attention as a hotbed of art. The site of an old shipyard has become a venue for young artists to showcase their work, and renovated cultural residences have become a meeting place for people. It takes 20 minutes by underground from Osaka Station to Kitakagaya. Under clear autumn skies, we toured the town where you can feel the sea breeze.




Local festival ‘Suminoe Art Beat’ is held every autumn.


Kitakagaya is the hometown of the Rubber Ducks in Japan.

On 5 November, the Suminoe Art Beat was held. This year marks the 10th time it has been held. It is an art festival organized with the cooperation of local real estate company Chishima Land Co Ltd, the Suminoe Ward Office and community and art organizations. The venue is the 40 000㎡ former Namura Shipyard Osaka factory. The number of visitors has been increasing year by year, and this year the Osaka Expo character "Myaku-Myaku" also visited the site. The festival attracted around 10,000 people, including local families and art fans who traveled from far and wide.


“The Rubber Duck” by Frentin Hoffmann.

The first thing that greeted us was a giant 9.5 m high ‘’Rubber Duck‘’ floating in the sea. A yellow object under a bright blue sky. It makes a huge impact when seen up close. It is the work of Dutch artist Florentin Hoffmann and is a popular public artwork that appears in seas and rivers in Europe and other parts of the world. In fact, its home town in Japan is here in Kitakagaya. That's why it appeared every year at the same event, with a drone duck flapping its legs in the sky above.




Rubber ducks are found throughout the venue.


Work by filmmaker HAYASHI Yuki.

On the second floor of the four-storey former general office building, a market, workshops and works by local high school students were on display. In addition, the work of filmmaker HAYASHI Yuki created a magical space.

On this day, the interior of the third and fourth floors, which are normally inaccessible, were specially opened to the public, and the members of the ‘Suminoe Town Guide Volunteer Association’ guided visitors through the history of the town of Kitakagaya and the Namura Shipyard.



Namura Shipyard Osaka factory site to Creative Centre Osaka.

From the Taisho to the Showa era, Osaka was one of the world's leading industrial centres, known as the ‘Manchester of the Orient’. The repeated wars increased the demand for ships, and many shipyards sprang up around the Kizu River estuary in Kitakagaya. One of these was Namura Shipbuilding Co. After WWII, Kitakagaya was a vibrant place, with as many as 20 000 people working at Namura and three other shipyards.


However, after around 1970 the shipbuilding industry went into decline. Shipyards disappeared one after another, and the Namura Shipyard was finally relocated to Saga Prefecture in 1972 to build larger ships. The docks, factory and cranes remain on the site. The fourth floor of the former office building, which we visited, used to be a ship's drawing room, and traces of drawings can still be seen all over the floor of the large space.






4th floor drafting room

Drawing marks left on the floor.


‘Shipyard Site Walk’ to learn about the city's history.



Utilizing Modern Industrial Heritage for Regional Revitalization

Creative Centre Osaka (CCO) was established on the site of the former Namura Shipyard Osaka factory.

The wall art on the seawall was created by Greek artist ‘b.’ 《b.friends on the wall》


After the Namura Shipyard left, the landowner Chishima Land Co. decided to turn the site into a center for art and culture after the 「NAMURA ART MEETING」, an art project looking 30 years ahead, was held in 2004. In 2005, part of the former shipyard site was turned into the Creative Centre Osaka (CCO). 

A major turning point came in 2007. The site of the former Namura Shipyard was selected as one of the ‘Industrial Heritage Sites of Modernisation’ (33 sites nationwide). This led to further development of the project and the involvement of the local community, which started the predecessor event of ‘Suminoe Art Beat’. Furthermore, Chishima Land Co. proposed the 「Kitakagaya Creative Village (KCV) concept」 in 2009. Initiatives were initiated to provide artists and creators with vacant houses and properties in the area to remodel freely, and to utilize warehouses and large properties as bases for their creative activities.


In 2011, Chishima Land Co. established the Osaka Creative Chishima Foundation, which also started a public grant programme for artists' creative activities. Through these initiatives, the city has transformed into a town where people gather through art.





Enjoy the work of contemporary artists, from the young to the masters.


「Super Studio Kitakagaya (SSK)」, a production studio for young artists and creators

Leaving the event site, we wandered around Kitakagaya, where a number of art events were taking place at the end of October/beginning of November.


Across the street in front of the CCO, on the left, is Super 「Studio Kitakagaya (SSK)」, a shared studio that opened in 2020. The workspaces of the 16 artists and creators who live here were open to the public. The huge space with a ceiling height of 7 m and a total floor space of 830 ㎡ used to be a warehouse of the Namura Shipyard. Being able to visit the creative site is an unforgettable experience for art fans.



「MASK」, a repository of works by well-known artists

MOCHIDA Atsuko《Steps》 photo by Ai Nakagawa

Further south is the 「MASK(MEGA ART STORAGE KITAKAGAYA)」, a huge artwork repository. The collection of seven well-known contemporary artists, including UJINO Muneteru, KANEUJI Teppei, KUBOTA Hironari, NAWA Kohei, MOCHIDA Atsuko, YANAGI Miwa and YANOBE Kenji, were all on display at one time. The highlight of the exhibition was the work Steps by MOCHIDA Atsuko, the main artist of this year's exhibition. This is an installation of stairs made of steel pipes that extend into the air, and is expected to develop in the future.

We also came across YANOBE Kenji's 《Sun Child(No.2)》(2011), a well-known giant cute outdoor sculpture, such as 《SHIP’S CAT》 at the Nakanoshima Museum, Osaka, and 《Sun Sister》 at the back of the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art.



Related articles:YANOBE Kenji, Sun Child: the symbol of hope, the sun in his hand and the future in his hands.  https://www.art-tourism.jp/article/sun-child 


MASK Art work by YANOBE Kenji photo by Ai Nakagawa


‘Morimura@Museum’, the private museum of MORIMURA Yasumasa.

Osaka-born artist MMORIMURA Yasumasa's private museum, M@M (Morimura@Museum),  was currently holding the exhibition ‘TAKE5’ to mark the fifth anniversary of its opening. Morimura is well known for his self-portraits in the guise of historical figures, but the exhibition also featured 21 works from the past five years, including the ‘Mona Lisa Wearing a Mask’ series, a satire of the Corona Disaster society. The strong message was conveyed from the depths of the works, which were funny.







Changes in the town of Kitakagaya and the future


Art has the power to develop communities.

Kitakagaya has changed significantly in the KCV initiative.

UNO Yoshimi of Chishima Land says: ‘Currently, around 130 artists and creators are working in Kitakagaya in about 40 locations, including galleries, cafés, ateliers and community spaces’. Ms Uno says: ‘As long as there are people living here, there is no end to urban development. We will continue to think about what Kitakagaya needs at any given time, and continue to develop the town with an emphasis on people’.


Vacant house becomes cozy cultural complex

Chidori Bunka

Chidori Bunka is a building that symbolizes the transformation of Kitakagaya. A 60-year-old cultural residence has been renovated and revived as a cultural complex with a cafeteria, gallery and tenants. The building has been renovated to preserve as much as possible the memory of the people who once lived in the shipbuilding industry, and the exterior, which has developed a patina with age, is largely intact.



The glass-walled atrium on the ground floor houses the popular Dutch pancake café "Chidori Bunka Shokudo", a bar, a gallery and four other tenants. In June this year, the Chidori Bunko, a space for interaction through books, opened and is said to be creating unexpected encounters with local people.

 On the second floor there are five tenants, including a chalk art class and a sewing machine workshop. The ‘Heya Project’ room, where art artist KANEUJI Teppei turned the entire room into a work of art, and the ‘Ishinha Archives’ room, where footage and scripts of the legendary underground theater company Ishinha are available for viewing, are open to the public at all times.

‘Heya Project’  photo by Ai Nakagawa


Diverse public art found in the city.

One of the pleasures of walking around the city is the public art, of which there are said to be more than 30. Factory walls and private house fences. You can also find photogenic artworks in such and such places.

Based on the concept of ‘plants of the future’, 《New Generation Plant》 is a work by MASUDA Sebastian, known as the art director of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. This work is located in the garden next to the nursing home, and its KAWAII power may help to make the users more energetic.

MASUDA Sebastian《New Generation Plant》

SAKATANI Seiko《A BOY》

The giant figure 《A BOY》 on the wall in front of the car park is the work of illustrator SAKATANI Seiko. If you park your car here, you might get picked up. Mario pops out of a coffee-roasting duct protruding from the outside of the building. This is a work by French artist oakoak. In his hands, even closed shutters and old block walls become part of the work.



Super Mario by oakoak.

While viewing the artwork, a local resident showed us other artworks. ‘Many people come here looking for public art,’ he said. When we followed the guide down the alley, works by oakoak and borutanext5 appeared. The colorful murals on the walls brighten up just by looking at them.



Colorful mural by borutanext5



Café Nums, a renovated factory.

When I was getting tired of walking, I found "Café Nums" by Kagaya Primary School. The building was renovated from a factory and is a stylish shop with concrete walls and monotone furniture to match. Artworks are displayed in the shop and apparel items are also on sale, making it a great place to eat and relax. The colorful abstract paintings that adorn the walls are beautiful. The most popular menu item is the salt latte. Close to the station, this is a recommended rest spot.



salted latte

Artwork on display in the shop.



Supporting the artists' production environment throughout the region

On the website of the Osaka Creative Chishima Foundation, you can look back at the various initiatives of the KCV initiative, which has been transforming the city since 2009. Contemporary artist YANOBE Kenji has sent the following message about the Chishima Land initiative.

"Since I was given the opportunity to place my works in the huge warehouse at MASK, I have been able to think on a scale that goes beyond the limits of my own storage and the limits of the museum where I exhibit, and my fantasies and imaginations themselves have been expanding. This place has become the starting point for me to expand my creativity."

Source; KCV concept, introductory video ‘Town development of Kitakagaya - towards a creative base where arts and culture are concentrated’. https://chishima-foundation.com/vision


Art makes the city vibrant and the city develops the environment for art production. This may be where the appeal of Kitakagaya lies.




Morimura@Museum.

Address

2F, 5-5-36, Kitakagaya, Suminoe-ku, Osaka

Tel

06-7220-6985 (Only accepted when the museum is open.)

Opening Hours

12:00~18:00(Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only. Last admission 17:30)

Closed day

Open only during exhibitions.

Admission fee

Adults and university students 600 yen / high school and junior high school students 200 yen / primary schools students and younger free

Official website



CHIDORI BUNKA

Adress

5-2-28, Kitakagaya, Suminoe-ku, Osaka, Osaka

Tel

06-7505-5189

Opening Hours

Cafeteria11:30~18:00・Bar18:00~23:00

Closed day

Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Official website


Café NAMS

Adress

2-5-31, Kitakagaya, Suminoe-ku, Osaka, Osaka

Tel

06-7777-3294

Opening Hours

Weekdays 11:00〜21:30 (Food Lo.20:50 Drink Lo.21:00)

Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 11:00〜22:00(Food Lo.21:15 Drink Lo.21:30)

Closed day

Thursday

Note.

All seats non-smoking, pets only allowed on the 1st floor of the restaurant (*on Sundays only).

Official website


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