>> Student Group Tour and "Connection" [ 2010 Photo Exhibition ]
Dear Everyone -
There will be less than 2 weeks until the closing of the exhibition, June 20th. Several people told me about their upcoming visits, from Tokyo and Niigata. Thank you very much!
There have been a few student group tours from local middle schools. Irumi Sasakura, Curator, wrote to me:
Today I gave a talk on the photography exhibition in front of a group for the first time (not counting interviews).
The middle school students were a very attentive audience. Even their teacher had known almost nothing of the Australian Aboriginal peoples! Naturally I cannot expect such a brief encounter to change things significantly, but it is my hope that the story of Dr. Hokari has touched them, has left an impression somewhere in their hearts. Perhaps not only their exposure to Aboriginal culture but also the narrative of how this young man took wing to explore the wider world, soaring to great heights, will be an inspiration to these small-town middle school students.
This, too, has been one of our goals since the planning stages of the exhibition.
They all listened wide-eyed as I described how Dr. Hokari had sped across the Australian continent on his motorcycle. I also read to them from the beginning of "Radical Oral History". You know how middle-aged women tend to nod their heads when listening to someone talk? One of the boys kept nodding as he listened; I feel that Dr. Hokari must have made a strong impression on him.
Later, when I went to see how the kids were enjoying the exhibition, I saw a somewhat elderly couple among them -- they would first read the panel explaining the photograph, then take in the image itself, discuss something between themselves, and then move a few steps to read the next panel, look at the next photograph, and so on. They must have spent over an hour at the exhibition.
(Translated by Kyoko Uchida)
It is such a great pleasure to see the possibility that Minoru's life might have touched a local boy. This is exactly what I hoped for and one of the reasons why I agreed to have an exhibition in such a remote city in Japan.
Some people have asked for having an exhibition in Sapporo, a major city in Hokkaido as well as Tokyo, of course. I personally want to plan one in Niigata, where Minoru and I grew up and where my parents live. Perhaps one in Daguragu? We never have expected such a reaction and this exhibition was not planned or organized as "to be repeated" exhibition. Therefore, I realized that it was not clear where to contact with such an inquiry. I decided to create an organization "Connection (to Minoru Hokari)" which will be an official contact for any future Mino-related events from now on. (E-mail: info@hokariminoru.org) A committie will be set up for each event within the "Connection." If you wish to have an exhibition coming to your town or a group tour to Mino's hometown in Japan or any other exciting idea, please let us know.
As the name of this organization "Connection" implies, I hope to extend the Mino connection to someone in somewhere through many diffferent ways, with you who are connected with him. Thank you very much.
Yuki Hokari