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 Art University was established in 2012 by Himayo Ueda, who has been active in the area for over 20 years, and NISHINARI YOSHIO (Nishio Yoshiya + kioku Handicraft Museum "Tansu") is a fashion brand established by artist Nishio Yoshiya 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 "Atari-ya" will be opened, curated by Production Zomia, in the "Sanno Harmonica Tenement House," 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.

Kamagasaki refers to a part of the northeast area of Nishinari-ku, Osaka City, but it is not on the map. "Kamagasaki" may be a situation in life where you feel alone and without a place to turn to. In this corner of Kamagasaki, when there is a place and opportunity to acknowledge and express one's existence, various interesting things happen.
Cocoroom, an arts NPO, runs this space itself, without any subsidies or systems. It started as a coffee shop in 2003, and has since expanded to include an art university and guesthouse, opening a "place for encounters and expression" for over 20 years. The expressions of unknown people, steeped in hardship, convey the subtleties of life and deepen our sense of living in the present. How encouraging it has been to witness the moments when the weakness of people who have come to terms with loneliness becomes strength.
In December 2024, forced eviction will take place around the Airin Labor and Welfare Center, and the area will move forward with reconstruction. This workers' town that supported the 1970 Osaka Expo will undergo another transformation.
For the past few years, we have been raising our voices in our desire to build an arts center on the former site that would hold the memories and records of Kamagasaki and hand them over to the future, where creativity, dialogue, and exchange for living in the present can be born and where people can work together. However, there are no signs of this coming to fruition.
Kamagasaki is a city that thinks deeply about living and working. We want to create opportunities and places for travelers and locals to share experiences and communicate beyond language barriers with the rapidly increasing number of foreigners in the neighborhood.
I hereby declare:
I won't give up. Kamagasaki Art Center. When you're ready to die, bring out all the expressions, humor, and ingenuity of unknown people!
*Semba Excel Building is open for a limited time, while Kamagasaki University of the Arts in Nishinari is open 365 days a year.