Since its founding in December 2001, the Aomori Contemporary Art Centre (ACAC) has welcomed a diverse range of artists to create and present their works through its flagship Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program. The centre has aimed to be an inspirational space for all involved, emphasizing interaction between domestic and international artists, local residents, and students. In this AIR program, not only artists; but also curators, researchers, and other cultural and artistic creators collaborate with the ACAC from the planning stages to research, production, installation, presentation, and documentation for exhibitions, performances, workshops, talks, and other activities that take advantage of the ACAC’s unique environment. The length of the stay can be as short as two weeks or as long as three months, depending on the project.
Due to the invisible threat of COVID-19, it is difficult for artists based overseas to travel to Aomori, so they will participate remotely via the internet and other methods. Travel difficulties persist through time itself marches on, and so do we. We seek to continue making -connections- that promote creative expression amid the pandemic, making full use of the internet and other means to harness the creativity and imagination for things that would otherwise go unnoticed from where we live. We will also leverage our experiences conducting remote projects, which included talks and exhibitions during last year’s AIR program and take advantage of the network that the ACAC has developed over the past 20 years. We hope that this AIR will be an opportunity to think together about how we can connect with each other from the here and now, in ways that are different from face-to-face communication-despite barriers to understanding and difficulties due to communicating remotely—in order to create knowledge that can survive in our present world.