Arts and Design for a Diverse and Inclusive Society

Design Future Course, Faculty of Design
Associate Professor NAKAMURA Mia

In recent years, arts (various expressive activities such as fine art, music, dance, drama, literature, etc.) have been taking place in various places in society. Arts that energize the community, promote recovery from traumas such as disasters and domestic violence, and arts that connects those who are relegated to the margins of society such as people with disabilities, elderlies with dementia, people with financial difficulties, foreigners, and LGBT community.

If arts can energize people and change relationships, what mechanisms exist? What kind of facilitation and project design are needed to unleash the power of art? -I am researching to answer these questions. In addition to writing papers, I am also actively involved in policy proposals based on my research findings, and provide support for the field of arts, being a member of the Social Art Lab affiliated with the Faculty of Design.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs and the research team of Kyushu University has produced handbooks to support art activities that lead to the realization of a diverse and inclusive society. The handbook contains basic knowledge, tips for practice, case studies, and hints for communication in an easy-to-understand format with plenty of illustrations. (English versions are coming soon.)

Edited by The Agency for Cultural Affairs & Kyusyu University Joint Research Team,
Social Inclusion through Culture and the Arts: A Handbook for Beginners and Social Inclusion through Culture and the Arts: A Handbook for Evaluation

I was also involved in a research project of the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and co-authored a guidebook. This guidebook includes many photos and records of discussions and roundtable discussions on why art is effective in creating a diverse society and tips on facilitation when conducting workshops. (An English version is coming soon.)

Tokyo Bunka Kaikan
Guidebook to the Art Activities leading to Social Inclusion

In order to utilize the knowledge of the power of art, we have started research on the design of dementia care in collaboration with a hospital, a local government, a think tank, and an NPO. Our goal is to rethink the design of dementia care from the perspective of people with different abilities, rather than from a fixed, one-way relationship of "supporting and being supported”. (In 2021, a new research organization called the "Design Initiative for diversity and inclusion" will be established in the Faculty of Design.

JST-RISTEX
“Scenario development of co-creation with multi-stakeholders towards a dementia-inclusive society”

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Design Future Course, Faculty of Design
Associate Professor NAKAMURA Mia