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

Photo: MugyudaHyogo

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 shugei-kan "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 "Atariya" 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.

"Study: Osaka Kansai International Art Festival" has launched a multi-year, progressive project in 2022 focusing on the issue of successors as a future hypothetical task for "NISHINARI YOSHIO."
In recent years, the number of foreign residents in Nishinari, Osaka, where the area is based, has been rapidly increasing. The area used to be a prosperous town for day laborers, attracting workers from all over the country. However, the shopping streets in the area, which once thrived as a result of the aging of the workforce and unemployment caused by the recession, have become a deserted area. However, in the past 10 years, a large number of Chinese and Vietnamese karaoke bars and restaurants have opened in the area. In addition, in Japan, where the labor shortage caused by the declining birthrate and aging population is becoming more serious, many foreigners are coming to Japan as technical intern trainees, and the number of residents in Nishinari Ward is on the rise. However, despite living in the same area, they have no connection with the former residents and have few opportunities to learn about their actual lives and backgrounds. In this situation, they believe that "fashion" could be one possible way to connect with them, and by holding multiple "NISHINARI YOSHIO" clothing workshops, they aim to work together as co-creators of the brand in the future.
From the start, the brand's concept was based on the gap that arose between artist Nishio Miya and elderly local women. The differences in culture and lifestyle between foreigners living in Japan and local women tend to be spoken of negatively in the local community, but this gap is actually the important point, and the brand hopes to use the gap that arises between the local residents and the artist through its activities as a catalyst for new developments for the brand.
This time, we will present the results of our research project along with the process.