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The International Conference on Open Access to Culture 2024, promoting inclusive approaches to enjoying and experiencing the arts, will be held from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3 at Tokyo International Forum in Chiyoda Ward. The event is part of Creative Well-being Tokyo, a project aimed at addressing social issues in Tokyo by improving accessibility and expanding opportunities for viewing, creating, and presenting art, run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Arts Council Tokyo. This year’s event, themed “Culture and Home: New Future Opened by Art,” will be the second one, following the first in 2022.

Both as a legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and as a promotional opportunity for the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics which will be held from Nov. 15 to 26 next year, the event will facilitate discussions on how the arts can contribute to the well-being of all, exhibit artworks in various forms and offer interactive experiences and networking opportunities.

Throughout the six days of the duration of the conference, there will be activities such as showcases, networking and workshops. The opening ceremony will feature Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike as well as various guests who engage in activities related to arts and inclusion such as the actor and Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics Ambassador Neru Nagahama. The ceremony, which requires prior registration, will be followed by a live performance by Kyle Kihira, a national and international award-winning pianist.

After the opening ceremony, various panel sessions and presentations will take place with simultaneous English interpretation. Other kinds of accessibility support will include sign-language interpretation, plus Japanese and English subtitles for some of the programs. There will be an invited talk by David de Keyzer, director of “Clin d’Oeil,” a French festival for deaf performers and audiences, as well as panel sessions by diverse speakers including Kazuyo Sejima, an internationally acclaimed architect and Director of Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. A variety of works by artists from Japan and abroad will be exhibited in the Lobby Gallery. Devices that provide visual and auditory assistance will also be exhibited, and visitors can experience them.

One of the exhibited artworks is titled “Blinking Leaves” by Yasuhiro Suzuki, a white chimney-like tower that blows out countless white leaves that flutter down and pile up on the floor.

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