TSUJI Rieko

• TOP >
• Archives >
• Residency Program >
• TSUJI Rieko

TSUJI Rieko

Participating Project	Exchange Residency Program (Japan-based creators sent abroad)
Activity Based	Tokyo
City / Place stayed	Basel / Atelier Mondial
Period	2023.4 - 2023.6

Purpose of the residency

Tsuji has been interested in building a community with other people since her friend who was living with Tsuji in Switzerland in 2014 named her daughter after Tsuji. In particular, Tsuji is planning to research human relationships related to godparents, which is not very familiar in Japan. During her stay, Tsuji plans to take videos of a stage performance themed on godparents, and interview a friend who made his wife's exlover his child's godfather. She plans to produce a video work like an ensemble drama and she also challenge the composition of a new installation work.

Plan during the residency

• In April-May Interviewing to the mother of Marieko - Olivia Haggenmacher , Benedikt Wyss, performers of theater play “Göttis”.
• On April 25th, an exhibition will be held at Atelier Mondial: a stage will be set up in the gallery and Tsuji will invite audience to have a discussion/conversation about godparents.
• On May 23rd, viewing the theater play “Göttis” To understand the performance better, English translation of plot will be needed in advance.
• In June mostly spend time on editing and maybe a bit more shooting
• In the end of June(tentative), Open Studio

Activities during the residency

I conducted and filmed group discussions with people from various backgrounds about the godparent system, how people build communities through name inheritance, and topics about room sharing and inviting people into home. During my stay, I participated in an exhibition and the open studio and received feedbacks on my projects. Additionally, I conducted research on how video works are handled at art fairs during Art Basel.

Outcome of the residency

I conducted three group discussions where we discussed topics such as the godparent system, name connections, room sharing, inviting people into home, and many other topics and deepened our discussion on what family connections are and how to build community. In retrospect, it was challenging to direct and film at the same time, and I had to reshoot many times. However, I was able to find a camera assistant and managed to carry out the task. Through this experience, I learned a lot about management of shooting which will be fundamental for my future activities, such as negotiating appearances, adjusting schedules, securing locations, and more.

Creator Information