Study：大阪関西国際芸術祭 | 2025 Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival 2025

The area known as "Kamagasaki" in Nishinari Ward, Osaka City, was once known as a town for day laborers, and many workers gathered there during the period of rapid economic growth. In recent years, the area has been facing various social changes, including an aging population, poverty, an increase in foreign residents, and rising land prices due to real estate investment.
Since its launch in 2022, this art festival has been focusing on artistic practices in this area.
Kamagasaki University of Arts was established in 2012 by UEDA Kanayo, who has been active in the area for over 20 years, and NISHINARI YOSHIO (NISHIO Yoshinari + Kioku Shugei-Kan “Tansu”) is a fashion brand established by artist NISHIO Yoshinari and elderly women in the area. This is the fourth time that these two groups of artists have exhibited at the exhibition, and they are developing their own unique art practices while having deep ties to the area.
In addition, a new cafe called "Atariya" will be opened, curated by Production Zomia, in the "Sanno Harmonica Nagaya," a building with a history of about 100 years that has retained the atmosphere of the Showa era while undergoing repeated renovations and expansions. The aim is for this space, which is still undergoing restoration, to become a place where new creations and exchanges can take place.

This is Sanno Harmonica Nagaya, a wooden tenement house built about 100 years ago. There are two rows of houses, east and west, for a total of 24 houses. The two facing each other resemble a harmonica, a musical instrument, and people have lived together supporting each other. This is the location. We are working with an NPO that is trying to preserve this building by gradually renovating it, and are carrying out a residency art project at the udon restaurant "Atari-ya."
Even though it's in the middle of town, this place feels like a corner, making it the perfect place to chat with someone over tea. A steep staircase leads to the second floor, where guests occasionally contemplate and create ideas about the earth, living things, hope and peace, the role of people and culture, life and Sanno, and what will happen after the Expo is over.
Curated by: Production Zomia

Partner city: Matsubara City

Production Zomia

Production Zomia was formed in 2021 as a network of artists, curators, and other Asian professionals involved in the arts. Recent activities include organizing “Water Crossers (Zomi) - Contemporary Art from the Mekong Region” (2021, Semba Excel Building, Osaka). Zomia” refers to the mountainous regions of mainland Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar) and southern China and its people, defined as such by Dutch historian Willem van Schendel after the Tibetan and Myanmarese word ‘Zomi’ (highlander) (James C. Scott, A World History of the Zomiār Demigrated Nation).