Go-Betweens: The World Seen through Children

American photographer Jacob A. Riis documented the lives of poor immigrants at the end of the 19th century. In this work, he met many children whom he called “go-betweens,” day-to-day interpreters for their non-English-speaking parents. To children, the modern world across which adults have drawn dividing lines is not necessarily so strictly demarcated. Children have the power to pass freely in and out of countries, cultures, or reality and fantasy. This power allows children to shape their own creative worlds. This exhibition examines contemporary world from a new perspective, through images of children expressed by 21 artists from around the world. These children, who adapt to life in the crevices between countries and cultures, build a vital foundation in societies where people of diverse races and ethnicities must live together. By journeying across the as-yet undifferentiated worlds of reality and fantasy, adulthood and childhood, they remind us of the existence of a free region beyond the boundaries of common sense. Through these works of art, we hope that the children will extend to all of us their carefree creative ability to enliven the future. More than anything, we hope that adults will be inspired to face a new future, no longer passively accepting the gridlock of contemporary world.

The planner of the exhibit, Araki Natsumi, will discuss its purposes and conception. Then Kim Insook, a Korean in Japan, will discuss her personal experiences as a “Go-Between,” as well as her works on exhibit. After the presentations, commentator Kim Hyeshin, an expert on Korean and Japanese cultures, will be invited to the stage for a discussion. 

Presenters: Araki Natsumi (Curator, Mori Art Museum), APT Artist Kim Insook (featured artist), Kim Hyeshin (Associate Professor, Okinawa Prefecutural University of Arts) 
Date: May 31 (Sunday) 13：00～15：20
Location: First floor lecture room 
Audience Capacity: 60 
Admission: Free