An artist collective is forging an international link between Japan … and the city of Pekin.
Two years ago, a group of artists who had been meeting online formed the International Art Appreciation Space.
The collective now has 30 members, all based in Japan apart from Pekin-based co-founder Bryan Hollman. International Art Appreciation Space had been hosting weekly online shows that encouraged aspiring artists to display their work in a friendly, supportive environment.
“Then we had the idea to do something in the real world, as opposed to online,” Hollman said. “So, I raised a question. ‘How about we do workshops in Pekin?’”
Last month, two International Art Appreciation Space members traveled from Japan to hold in-person workshops at L.E. Starke Elementary School in Pekin and at the Pekin Public Library.
Each child who attended the workshops received a box of art supplies. According to collective co-founder Makoto Tagawa, the workshops generated enough interest on both ends of the Japan-Pekin connection that more such events are a distinct possibility.
“We feel that this opportunity has great potential for us,” he said. “The mayor of Numazu City in (Shizuoka Prefecture) was very interested in this opportunity and made a courtesy visit to see us before we traveled to the U.S. This meeting was featured in a Japanese newspaper and had a great impact on the city. The Mayor of Numazu City is very pleased to see the connection between Numazu and Pekin. I believe that this kind of impact goes beyond our own creation. My hope is that we will be able to feel more and more of the influence of this as we continue to host workshops.”
Hollman’s wife, Sam Hollman, helped organize the Pekin workshops. She thought they were valuable because the exercises gave the children who participated creative autonomy while also teaching them the value of teamwork.
Like Tagawa, she believes there is an opportunity for more International Art Appreciation Space workshops and hopes that more local artists will join the collective and perhaps hold events abroad.
“I think the workshops were very beneficial to kids’ creative development,” she said. “I also think the international relationship that’s started is a great idea. There could be opportunities on both ends … for artists here to travel to Japan and make connections, as well as for artists there to continue to travel here.”
