Academyhills, located within Roppongi Hills, will host "Roppongi Art College 2014," a one-day event offering a variety of art-related lectures. This seminar, aimed at businesspeople, offers an opportunity to consider what art means to them. Academyhills, which offers more than 200 programs annually for working professionals, began the event in 2011, attracting 1,000 participants each time. Past lecturers include Akira Ikegami and Ryuichi Sakamoto. This year, a total of 20 courses will be offered under the theme "Connecting Everyone's '!" Former track and field athlete and coach Dai Tamesue and Academyhills Chairman Heizo Takenaka will appear for the opening talk. The session will focus on the themes of "self-centeredness" and "soft power." From 11:20 a.m., Noh performer Noboru Yasuda and author Seiko Ito will appear. Using Noh, a form of theatre that often tells stories of the dead, as a backdrop, the discussion will explore traditional Japanese culture, views on life and death, and other themes that modern people have forgotten.
Starting at 2:50 PM, creative director Yanai Michihiko, who has worked on commercials for magazines like Zexy, will appear. Looking back on his experiences, he will discuss Yanai's approach to life's work, saying things like, "Doing what you want to do is more important than the job you want to become," and "Whether working at a ramen shop or at Disneyland, the motivation is the same: wanting to make people happy."
Starting at 4:10 PM, film director Gota Tomo and project designer Furuta Hima, who teamed up on the documentary film "Umaru: Zutto Issho," which depicts the life and death of a family, will be in conversation. They will discuss the message they wanted to convey through the story. At the same time, Hiroshima-based architect Makoto Tanijiri will appear; Masanao Dehara, president of Discover Setouchi, an organization dedicated to exploring the future of the Setouchi region; and Toshihiro Takahashi, editor-in-chief of Discover Japan, a magazine dedicated to rediscovering the charms of Japan. The mastermind behind U2, a commercial facility for cyclists redeveloped from a former port warehouse in Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, will reveal the behind-the-scenes story. The closing talk will feature Ellie from chim ↑ pom, who has garnered attention both domestically and internationally for their socially charged artworks, and Daisuke Tsuda, a journalist who expresses his views on a variety of fields, including politics and culture. They will discuss the potential of art and its relationship with society. Other speakers include Todd Porter, founder of TEDTOKYO; the architectural duo Klein Dytham architecture; and English-language rakugo performer Diane Kichijitsu. Other guests scheduled to appear include Yamaguchi Takao of the JAXA Space Environment Utilization Center, illustrator Sakamoto Daizaburo, and opera director Ika Shugo.
Roppongi Art College will also be holding a pre-event for the first time. The pre-event will feature exclusive talks on the themes of "things we can't help but love," such as music, books, and movies, which have been touched upon in the past. Photographers Kawashima Kotori and Tsuda Daisuke are scheduled to appear on November 14th and 21st, respectively.
The Academyhills official website will begin accepting applications for event participants in late September. Applications for the pre-event will open on October 1st. Applications can be made in person at TSUTAYA TOKYO ROPPONNGI or by phone, and the participation fee is 1,000 yen.
【Event Information】
Roppongi Art College ~Connecting everyone's "!"~
Venue: Academyhills
Address: Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 49F, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Date: November 24th
Time: 10:00 to 18:30
Fee: 4,000 yen (total of 20 courses)
