African Contemporary Art: Connecting Care Spaces for the Elderly
- pe2s-isgi
- Sep 27
- 2 min read
Visual Thinking Strategy and Art Workshop
On 2 September, the Amamoto & Shiraishi Africulture Centre held its second African contemporary art appreciation event, using Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), at the Izunon Café (a senior citizen initiative hosted by the Izu-no-Kuni City Nirayama Community Support Centre). This followed the first session held in April.
The initiative is part of the Africulture Creative Aging & Inclusive Project, supported by the Arts Council Shizuoka’s Regional Revitalisation through Culture and Arts: Start-up Support programme.
The event brought together 18 seniors, the Secretariat-General of the Social Welfare Office, staff of the Nirayama Community Support Centre, and two city councillors (one travelling from outside Shizuoka). The VTS session was facilitated by Izumi Itano and Yoshiko Nakano, who have collaborated with the Centre since last year.
The featured works were Sunday Fish Market in Masasani (60×60 cm) by Jaffari Aussi and Shetani (Spirit) (105×250 cm) by George Lilanga.
During the VTS session of Sunday Fish Market, laughter filled the room as participants shared memories and stories about cooking fish in Japan and abroad. In response to Shetani, comments such as “It looks like something from a dream” and “They personify animals or insects” led to deeper dialogue—echoing the fact that Lilanga painted Shetani figures that appeared in his dreams.
The session was followed by the workshop Let’s Draw Shetani!, and an additional exhibition of Lilanga’s watercolours. Although some participants hesitated at first, butterfly objects by Senegalese artists placed near the windows soon inspired them. One after another, they painted butterflies, and six participants ultimately created works using butterflies as their motif. In the final presentations, some entrusted memories of departed loved ones to the butterflies, creating poignant moments that connected with the Shetani and reflected the African tradition of butterflies as symbols of the soul.
We sincerely thank the Nirayama Community Support Centre for their cooperation in making this event possible.
Photo credit: Nirayama Community Support Centre, Ms Itano, and Isogai
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