EXHIBITION

During the summer of 2009, fourteen students from Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon Colleges (CCW) at the University of the Arts London travelled to Tokyo, generously funded by the British Council (PMI2 Connect Project), to develop cultural exchange between the UK and Japan. The young artists were to take part in an ´on site workshop´ entitled ‘vision for a recycling future´ and would spend an intensive period of time collaborating with hosts Tokyo Wonder Site in Aoyama, central Tokyo. Professor Chris Wainwright, Head of Colleges, CCW travelled with the group acting as a visiting tutor adding to the collection of 40 international artists who gathered for the workshop. Artists from different nations including Germany, Korea, Cambodia, Japan and the United Kingdom challenged themselves to overcome language and cultural boundaries to respond collectively to the title of 'Waste'. During their visit students participated in workshops, site visits and tutorials from high profile designers, architects and composers such as Toshi Ichiyanagi, Kosuke Tsumura, Kotaro Watanabe and Song Dong. This served to inspire thought provoking work, which culminated in an onsite exhibition. On returning to the UK the students have continued to be informed by their experience in Japan and are now presenting work at Camberwell College of Arts, which reflects on the integration of their Japan experience into their individual practices. The creative relationship between UAL and Tokyo Wonder Site will enable further cross cultural collaboration and exchange between artists and students from London and Tokyo.

Camberwell College of Arts, Chelsea College of Art & Design, Wimbledon College of Art (CCW) University of the Arts London

Who we are
The three specialist art colleges of the University of the Arts London: Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon (CCW) have formed a ground breaking creative, academic and cultural partnership. The collective ethos of the three colleges promotes independence, experimentation and actively supports internal collaboration and the creation of sustainable external partnerships. CCW´s scale and approach is individual, intimate and personal but seeks to be collectively highly influential on a local and international stage. The colleges share their rich resources, specialist areas and heritage with each other. With a range of partners they enable a critical and imaginative exploration of possibilities that will drive radical thinking in defining our creative futures. What we do The three colleges whilst apprearing to offer some duplication of courses as well as distinct areas of specialism, evidence significant nuance of difference due to the adjacency of other disciplines and the colleges´ immediate, distinctive and intimate environments. The small scale of each of the colleges is also a major contributor to the close community of students and staff that exists on each college site and this in turn leads to many formal and informal relationships wand initiatives between courses and the local communities. Our core disciplines around which there are a range of related subjects includes: Conservation/Archives/Curation, Graphic Design, Fine Art, Interior Spatial Design, Textiles, Theatre Design. www.arts.ac.uk

Tokyo Wondersite (TWS)

Tokyo Wonder Site is an art centre dedicated to the generation and promotion of new art and culture from the heart of Tokyo. While TWS Hongo supports and nurtures young talent in all fields in programs related to the government-hosted "Tokyo Wonder Wall" exhibition of works chosen from among entries from the general public, TWS Shibuya is a hub in a global cultural network of affiliated cultural facilities in Japan and abroad, and at once a platform for both new talents and internationally active creators to exchange and showcase their works. In addition, TWS Aoyama: Creator-in-Residence opened in 2006 as a venue for creative individuals from all genres and nationalities to pursue their respective work in a shared process. Through various joint programs, the three venues will continue their broad array of artistic activities in order to provide creators with a stage for creative work. www.tokyo-ws.org

British Council

Connecting the UK to the world and the world to the UK, the British Council is Britain's international cultural relations body. In an inter-dependent, turbulent world we believe that creating opportunities for people to understand each other better, work together more and learn from one another is crucial to building secure, more prosperous and sustainable futures for us all. Our activities - whether in the arts, science, sport, English teaching, climate change or education - nurture greater trust and understanding between different countries and cultures. They also build strong international links to and from Britain, opening doors for the UK onto the rest of the world and for the world back to the UK. Launched in April 2006, the Prime Minister's Initiative for International Education (PMI2) is a five-year strategy which aims to secure the UK's position as a leader in international education and sustain the growth of UK international education delivered in the UK and overseas. www.britishcouncil.org

Workshop description:

Students from CCW participated in the fourth program of "On Site lab Workshop-Series" organized by Tokyo Wondersite. The workshop focused on the theme "proposal for a recycling society". It consisted of outdoor research with institutions related to the handling and recycling of garbage in Tokyo, workshops held by creators coping practically with this problem and group work, including lectures given by researchers and people in charge of policies, among others. The "On Site Lab Workshop Series" based at Tokyo Wondersite was established in 2006 using the Creator-in-residence facility.  A number of tutors from around the world are invited to work together on a chosen theme, while another 30 creators from different fields (including artists, designers, architects, composers and performers) are also brought together for a weeklong program, their collective works are shown and discussed.  The program serves as an experiment in bringing together young creators from different background to work together toward new horizon of knowing. For more information on the Tokyo Wondersite ‘On Site Lab Workshop´ programme, please visit www.tokyo-ws.org.

Links

www.arts.ac.uk www.camberwell.arts.ac.uk www.chelsea.arts.ac.uk/graduateschool www.wimbledon.arts.ac.uk www.shapingsculpture.com www.tokyo-ws.org www.britishcouncil.org www.japansociety.org www.dajf.org.uk www.clearspring.co.uk