Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and the Great Britain Sawasaka Foundation

Funding Announcement

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Visiting Japan, part of the Research Programme towards the new - Morecambe Bay Triennial.

Date Posted —
28.10.2022

Working in partnership, Deco Publique and theCoLAB have been awarded grant funding from the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and the Great Britain Sawasaka Foundation for a research trip to Japan to visit rural and coastal regions to explore examples of world class, place specific artistic programming at the Echigo-Tsumari Triennial, the world's largest outdoor art exhibition, and the Setouchi Triennial, which takes place on a dozen islands in the Seto Inland Sea.

The research trip, taking place in November 2022, is part of a programme of research for the development of the Morecambe Bay Triennial, a new concept for Morecambe Bay that Morecambe based Deco Publique and London based theCoLAB have been evolving since first working together in 2018 on the co-curation and co-production of the Headlands to Headspace landscape art commissions with Morecambe Bay Partnership.

The Triennial is conceived as a residency-led and place specific commissioning programme and festival, that will span the Morecambe Bay coastline. Our ambition for the initiative is to place artists in residence around Morecambe Bay, within its industry; on its shores; in the landscape and with its people and for the work of the Triennial to creatively address the cross cutting themes of the Bay, supporting long term cultural development through partnership working.

The current R&D phase has been kindly funded by Arts Council England, Lancaster City Council and South Lakeland District Council and has seen Deco Publique lead consultation with partners including Eden Project North, international and regional artists and specialists with particular experience in the creation of place-specific interventions of scale, to explore the Triennial vision. 

This first phase of R&D will soon come to an end, after which we will begin a second stage research process in 2023. We are at the early development phase of an ambitious initiative that we’ve collectively imagined and evolved in recent years. As a project that looks to take the long-view, Morecambe Bay Triennial will continue to evolve in partnership and in conversation with artists and organisations that share a vision for Morecambe Bay's cultural future.

Portfolio of Recent Work: Deco Publique & theCoLAB

“The Morecambe Bay Triennial provides an opportunity to develop a project narrative centered on using art and cultural work to sensitively and imaginatively support cultural regeneration in Morecambe Bay through artistic commissioning, community engagement and festival programming. The research phase has given the concept time and space to evolve, and allowed us to have brilliant conversations with artists, partners and experts who have brought much energy to an already ambitious initiative. Our partnership with theCoLAB brings skill and experience together across artistic commissioning, curation, festivals, community engagement, stakeholder development and place-based cultural regeneration. With funding provided from Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and The Great Britain Sawasaka Foundation we are thrilled to visit Japan with the support of Fram Kitagawa and Echigo Tsumari to experience two Triennials, both created in specific response to place and place-specific issues.”

Elena Jackson, Director & Curator, Deco Publique

“Morecambe Bay’s 90 miles of coastal landscape is both magnificent and utterly human. Its embrace contains the many paradoxes and challenges of contemporary coastal life, industry, history and survival with many unique natural and industrial sites. The evolution of the Morecambe Bay Triennial is a heartfelt, collaborative and determined vision to further expand a cultural ecology in partnership with the many communities, organisations and people which make it what it is and what it will become. This vision gradually takes shape by sharing ideas and thoughts with UK based, and thanks to the generosity of Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, international organisations. Our research trip to the Echigo-Tsumari and Setouchi Triennials and to meet their founder, Fram Kitagawa, is fundamental to our international and visionary approach to the creation of our embedded and grounded Triennial.”

Claire Mander, Director & Curator, theCoLAB

With thanks to our R&D funders, Arts Council England, South Lakeland District Council and Lancaster City Council; and for funding the research trip to Japan Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation which promotes mutual understanding and cooperation between the UK and Japan through financial support for activities in a number of fields and The Great Britain Sawasaka Foundation which supports closer links between Britain and Japan. 

We also extend our huge thanks to GBSF, Japan Society, Fram Kitagawa and the team at Art Front Gallery and Echigo-Tsumari and Setouchi Triennial’s for facilitating theCoLAB and Deco Publique’s visit to Japan.