Artist in Residence Program
at the Kumonodaira
Mountain Hut
Artist in Residence Program
at the Kumonodaira Mountain Hut
Participants of the Kumonodaira Mountain Hut Artist in Residence Program 2025 Announced
We are pleased to announce the selected artists for the “Kumonodaira Mountain Hut Artist in Residence Program 2025.”
This year marks the sixth year of the program, with a total of 65 applicants. After careful review, 6 groups 7 artists from diverse fields—including painting, body expression, photography, installation, and architecture—have been chosen.
The program is an initiative that aims to design harmony between society and the natural environment through art. It was launched in spring 2020 as an opportunity for artists to explore new expressions inspired by the pristine ecosystems of the natural world.
This initiative is not intended to focus on fleeting impact or the mere propagation of a concept, but rather to cultivate relationships that develop through sustained encounters between people, and between people and the land, with Kumonodaira as the point of origin. We believe that the true value lies in the worldview that emerges from these ongoing relationships.
From May to June this year, an exhibition showcasing the results of the program, titled “Diffusion of Nature 2025: The Wavering Distance” was held at GASBON METABOLISM in Hokuto Yamanashi Japan. The exhibit featured works across various fields that resonated with the memories of Kumonodaira, creating a scene reminiscent of an ecological expression of diverse artistic ecosystems.
At Kumonodaira Mountain Hut, we will continue to explore how interactions among diverse perspectives—art, natural sciences, humanities, outdoor activities, and more—related to “nature,” can open up new perspectives on the world we live in.
Today, where environmental crises and the chaos caused by information technology seem unstoppable, we hope that this program can serve as a catalyst for reconstructing our relationship with the “nature” right beneath our feet, and bring about new discoveries.
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Asahi IshikawaActor. Born in 1995. Dr.Holiday Laboratory
What does it mean to walk?
This body carries itself from here to there. Isn’t that, quite literally, a modest first step toward transformation? Of course, I am swept up in it — by this earth, this weather, this light, this clamorous silence. And the world, too, is inevitably drawn in — by the warmth of my body, the rhythm of my breath, the unruly arrogance of flesh, and this act of walking. I slip into the space between, hold my breath, and quietly witness the unspoken exchange between them. Was I something like mud? I changed shape. I transformed. The secret metamorphosis is complete. All that remains is to await another. -From “Kumonodaira”- In a place without asphalt, what does it mean to walk? To try walking there — perhaps a new way of walking will emerge. And what will that new walk demand of me? Come closer. Come and press harder.
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Shotaro KawaiBorn in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1992.
Completed a Master’s Program in Japanese painting specialization at Kyoto City University of Arts in 2019.
The murals painted in prehistoric caves and the ruins of ancient civilizations can be said to be "intermediate beings" that move between opposing realms such as nature and artificial objects, images and matter. His work in painting is to create such phenomena with his own hands. As he continues to paint, he damages the painting by scraping/peeling/tearing/rubbing/washing, and then repair them as he continues painting. The images that arise from my control and the images that arise from the accumulation of random damage melt and mix together, and the painting acquires a reality as an "intermediate being."
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Elisa MicheletCalifornian-French multi-disciplinary artist based in Tokyo. With a background in design, her work explores how digital or natural processes interact, play with or break form. Her practice as a documentary and fine art photographer reflects her deep connection to the natural environment, shaped by her upbringing in California’s Northern Sierras. Living in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris, and Tokyo inspired a parallel fascination with urban landscapes, furthering her interest in the ways humans are influenced by their environments, both natural and built. She is also interested in the relationship between humans and technology. She has a B.A. in Design Media Arts and a minor in Film & Television from UCLA. She speaks English & French fluently and is currently learning Japanese.
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Hiroto IshiiBorn in Aomori in 2002 and raised in Saitama. Fuchiku-ka (wind architect). He has long cultivated a sensitivity to wind through the practice of frisbee. While studying at the Takashi Fujino Laboratory at Tohoku University, He explored wind as a design principle, integrating complex spatial perceptions — air currents, humidity, sound, and scent — into architectural thinking. This approach earned him the Aoba Prize, the university’s top design award.
After entering graduate school, he studied at Politecnico di Torino in Italy, conducting field research along the Adriatic Sea, where powerful seasonal winds like the Bora and Sirocco blow. There, he was deeply inspired by the European ways of embracing wild nature, which led him to take up mountain climbing.
Major honors include the Grand Prize at the HIROSAKI WALKABLE DESIGN COMPETITION, selection among the Top 100 at the 2024 Akarenga Graduation Design Exhibition, and an Honorable Mention in the 51st Nisshin Kogyo Architectural Design Competition.
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Hee-HeeBorn in 1994 in Kanagawa, Japan.
Graduated from Tama Art University with a degree in Product Design in 2016.
Artist / Photographer. She creates works as an act of recalling the curiosity of childhood, engaging with all forms of existence in nature as playmates, and expressing narratives within a fantastical worldview. Her work captures the energy and structural beauty of nature, observing phenomena born from natural processes as “ephemeral structures.” She considers photography a record of the moment when perception is stirred by these phenomena.
Major exhibitions and activities include TABF (Tokyo Art Book Fair) 2021 [online], Find Silhouettes, a two-person exhibition (2022, Yumeno Gallery Kichijoji), Arteles Creative Center (2024, Finland / artist residency participant).
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Daichi Chinen & Keiko HataDaichi Chinen
In 2004, Daichi Chinen encountered street performance on the streets of Ikebukuro and set his path in motion. Since then, he has performed widely at street performance festivals and on the streets both in Japan and abroad. In 2013, he appeared as a dancer in Au revoir l'été (Hotori no Sakuko), directed by Koji Fukada. In 2014, he presented his solo dance performance Investigation — Soil Edition, directed by Min Tanaka, at Plan-B. In 2020, the documentary film Odoritai Daichi no Mai (directed by Kazuyuki Nozawa), featuring Chinen, was screened at Toyooka Theater. The cinematography was by Yasuhiro Hotta, known for filming Kaze no Keshiki, a documentary capturing the butoh master Tatsumi Hijikata dancing through city streets. In 2021, Chinen served as performance choreographer for the NHK Saturday drama “Rokujouma no Pianoman”. From 2023 to 2024, he held a series of regular nude performances titled “LATAI”. Chinen continues to explore dance as a device that stirs the latent “presence” within everyone. Street performer / dancer.
Links:
LATAI - outside
LATAI - inside
“Odoritai Daichi no Mai” Trailer
Keiko Hata
Based in Otake City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Keiko Hata works across a wide range of creative fields including painting, animation, and stage design. She also makes appearances in various settings such as theater performances, traveling shows, and on the streets. In 2022, she participated in Kumonodaira Mountain Hut Artist in Residence Program, where she created Mrak, a stop-motion animation filmed outdoors. For this project, she collaborates with dancer Daichi Chinen to create a story of mountain spirits dressed in handmade washi paper garments from her hometown.
