Conversation with Koichiro Osaka
Livestream: Tuesday, November 3, 2020
ALT + SHIFT + COMM hosts curator Koichiro Osaka, director of the Tokyo-based independent space Asakusa, for a conversation on research-based practices in Japan and networks of regional collaboration across Asia.
Opened in 2015, Asakusa serves a platform through which to engage with art-historical research and independent exhibition projects, making possible various approach to work both with public institutions and private initiatives. It is housed in a small residential property built in 1965 in Asakusa, one of the Tokyo’s most bustling tourist districts, and is located steps away from busy streets in a secluded area where 20 households live side-to-side and back-to-back, forming a discreet colony. The renovation project took place in early 2015.
Koichiro Osaka is the Founding Director of Asakusa. After studying Human Sciences at Waseda University, he moved to Bangkok in 2001 and then to London in 2004 to develop his interests in social policy and economics. His interests in humanities and social sciences led him to consider contemporary art as a discursive platform, which fosters critical thinking by generating interdisciplinary questions in direct collaboration with researchers of diverse academic fields. Osaka holds a degree in art criticism and curation from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London.
*Please note that the conversation was not recorded to ensure the speakers’ freedom of speech.
