Kamagasaki University of the Arts

Japan

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It has been open since 2012 in Kamagasaki, Nishinari Ward, Osaka City. It is run by the NPO Cocoroom. The town of Kamagasaki is like a university, and with the motto "if there are people who want to learn together, that's the university," it holds around 80-100 courses a year in subjects such as astronomy, aesthetics, and choral singing at various local facilities. In recent years, with the aging of Kamagasaki's residents, it has focused on memories and records, and operates as a "place for encounters and expression." It also provides courses at nearby high schools and junior high schools, and holds collaborative courses with Osaka University.
In 2019, with the help of Hasuoka, who has been digging wells for Peshawar-Kai, and under the guidance of former day laborers in Kamagasaki, 700 people including children, travelers, and refugees dug a well with shovels. With the rebuilding of the Airin Labor Welfare Center in front of JR and Nankai Railway's Shin-Imamiya Station, they are imagining building a "Kamagasaki Arts Center" at this location.
Exhibitions, performances, etc.: Yokohama Triennale 2014, Arts Maebashi "Forest of Expression" (2016), Bird Theater Festival (2016), Ooka Makoto Word Museum "Kamagei has arrived!" (2017), Lumbini Museum "This is a great town. This is - Days at Kamagasaki University of the Arts" (2018), Saitama International Art Festival (2019), Osaka Kansai International Art Festival (2022), etc.