100 Crafts Challenges Kumite no Ippon Sumo," which describes how I felt as I continued the challenge of the MATSURI-related project "100 Crafts Challenges Kumite. As the first in a series of articles, I begin with a greeting from the person in charge.
100 Crafts Challenges." It is literally a rough ride through a hundred challenges. As part of the MATSURI project, CHITOSE is taking on the difficult task of creating 100 different products (prototypes) and reporting on the process. Currently, as a first step, we are collaborating with artists and skilled technicians who are creating unique products mainly from the perspective of visual expression under the theme of "Dyeing - Possibilities of Craft in the Algae Industry. We are also vigorously searching for themes so that more people can find contact with the fascinating organisms called algae in the future.
Nowadays, the project is gradually gaining recognition within the company, and we are receiving an increasing number of requests such as, "We have received this request," or "Can we do something with this company? However, the initial impetus for this project came from an individual's own idea. Although I had the support of others, the direction of the project was left to me, and in the beginning it was a bit of a "one-man wrestling" situation. Recently, as I gather the strength of various people, I feel that the "100 Crafts Challenges" project itself is rising up autonomously like a single living organism, and sometimes I find myself muttering, "Whoa.
However, 100 Crafts Challenges has only just begun. I want them to go beyond the narrow confines of the company and explore more and more of the open world and grow into stronger and stronger creatures. Looking back, I feel that the direction in which the project wants to go is gradually becoming clear, and that a firm response to the "100 Crafts Challenges," so to speak, is beginning to emerge.
If you have an idea of what you want to do, but can't quite picture it, or if you want to create something beyond your own preconceptions, why don't you join us in that "one-person sumo wrestling"? It's only one person's sumo, but it's still one person's sumo. It may be a one-person sumo no matter how far you go, but if you get together, you may come up with a meaning that is more than just a one-person sumo. But I think that is also a bit different from calling for everyone to come together to "connect" and "join forces". I think it would mean something to each of us to feel that we are close enough, just for a moment, to be able to work out a one-person wrestling match.
written by: Aoi Nakamura
