This project served as the catalyst for 59FU. We were commissioned by a company with locations in both Yahiko Village and Sanjo City. The project continues with the aim of revitalizing the company through "art thinking" and enhancing the overall appeal of Yahiko Village.
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A plastic manufacturing company with bases in Yahiko Village and Sanjo City approached us, asking for our help in building a framework to incorporate "artistic thinking." They wanted to cultivate a company culture that encourages the use of waste materials and the entry into new business fields, and for us to provide the architecture for this.Unlike countries like France, which have a foundation for corporate patronage of the arts, the mainstream approach in Japan is to offer incentives to local communities and businesses for art promotion. However, this project in Yahiko Village was unique. Unlike a typical Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program where the focus is on production and final artworks, this program places a high priority on the company's employees spending time with the artists in their daily lives, allowing the employees to be inspired by their creative processes. This core concept, which aims to ferment and transform the company by using artists as a kind of yeast, showed a great deal of long-term vision and tolerance.Furthermore, curators who are exploring the continuous development of both the economy and art have recently been focusing on artistic thinking. They have shown interest in this project, sensing its potential to involve not just art but broader cultural elements. The discussions for this project began with video conferences during the COVID-19 pandemic and have since moved to the AIR location in Yahiko Village.