Column

1. Impressions of your online distribution for both programs

・ Since I specialise in Visual Arts, I have never really utilized online tools to introduce my art activities except for announcing any upcoming exhibitions. It was my first time managing an online project like this from the preparation stage up to its implementation.
・ My proposed projects were quite simple this time, consisting of uploading pictures from my portfolio onto social media and creating a short video workshop for YouTube.
・ It was a good opportunity to review my past works and activities.
・ In the near future, webcasting will become quite common and become key to showing what you do in any field of art. I think this online project allowed artists to practice this in advance.
・ I was able to analyse my proposed activities by observing many other artists’ “keep going TOGETHER” projects.

2. Fruition and Challenge Acquired through Online Activities mainly from the 2nd program

(Outcomes)
・ On Instagram, I was able to gain a few new followers daily. I was also able to once again introduce my portfolio to those in connection with the European Capital of Culture festivities.
・ I learned how to use and benefitted from some of the convenient functions on YouTube (scheduled publishing for example). In addition, I learned more about online distribution by referring to the techniques used by other artists.
・ It was a valuable opportunity to learn about Japanese artists who have participated in the European Capital of Culture in the past and learn about what kinds of work they are doing now.
(Challenges)
・ Webcasting seemed to be harder for artists specialising in Visual Arts, which typically has few performative elements. All artists were continuously encouraged to research new effective ways to expand our webcasting potential.
・ Many celebrities, musicians, and dancers have started to stream live all over the world, and this new abundance of media has created a hurdle for emerging artists to gain viewership. It seems that the chances of getting a lot of people’s attention are decreasing even in the videos that had been receiving a large response thus far, and I think that in the future “impact” will be a requirement for gaining viewers and followers.

3. Time, number of people, and the environment required to prepare for online distribution for the 2nd program

【Time】 Approx. 2 weeks.
① Concept development and setting a specific direction for filming.
② Discussion with a cameraman (about one hour) regarding the selection of the filming environment and locations.
③ A day to film the entire scene.
④ Approx. 1.5 weeks of video editing.
Then, the selection of effective pictures for PR.

【Number of people included in the project】
3 people in total.

【Environment】　
Otsu beach in the town of Toyokoro (50km from the base of operations).
Equipment used: PC, voice recorder, drone and video camera.
The environment was sufficient to realize the proposed project.

4. What did you struggle with and devise in preparing for online distribution? (for the 2nd program)

【Points of Difficulty】
• Since it was my first attempt at online distribution, I had difficulty deciding how to compose the program contents and adjusting the length of the video. In addition, I was unfamiliar which day of the week and what times one should upload to achieve maximum viewership.

【Points of Consideration】
・ How to plan a workshop-type video that allows viewers to participate, centred around the concept of “giving cheer to a Europe in difficult circumstances”.
・ How the video could be made so that many people can easily participate and the content is not too difficult.
・ Evaluation of how each scene of the video clearly and directly conveys its purpose and is easy to follow.
・ Maximising the potential audience by uploading the video to Facebook and Instagram along with a YouTube link. I also sent individual messages to friends and colleagues with the YouTube link, asking them to share the video with their friends.
・ Made the video in 4 x4 ratio, because the square ratio is more suitable for smart phones and tablet devices.
・ For material(s) selection, I chose an A4 paper that is seemed more common for any country. (Square paper is not as commonly found overseas as in Japan.)

5. Utilization and Development of Online Live Streaming for Forthcoming Activities mainly for the 1st program

This time, I mainly focused on introducing my portfolio of works from the European Capital of Culture 2014 (Riga), and European capital of Culture 2019 (Matera).  There are a number of pictures from many other past exhibitions that have not yet been featured, so I would like to continue to publish these photos on social media along new works.
I’ve also received many comments asking how I make art works. I am considering filming the design and production stages to broadcast online.

6. Others, comments, feedback

At the beginning of my “keep going TOGETHER” online project proposal, I had no idea of how to approach and respond to this particular theme since I had very little video editing skills or web broadcasting experience. In fact, since I’m not specialised in performing arts, I found it harder to broadcast my activity live.
In this regard, I would like to thank the EU-JAPAN Fest Japan Committee, especially Ms. Koike, who was in charge of public relations, for their kind advice and the help they provided that allowed me to participate in the program in a fulfilling manner.
Their generous financial support also allowed me to enhance my proposed project contents, and overall gave me a constructive experience.
In recent times, it has been difficult to stay motivated to produce new works due to successive suspensions or cancellations of art exhibitions, and participating in a project such as “keep going TOGETHER” has been an invaluable opportunity to regain that motivation and I was able to reaffirm how important it is to continue creating.
Through this experience, I realized that action is what produces results rather than exclusively thinking. I will do my best to continue working hard and devote myself to this idea.

<Programs>

The 1st program     35 Days Journey
The 2nd program   Thinking of you!

• Date:  24th May 2020 to 30th June/ 31st May 2020
• Contents: 
  1s: Posted one picture a day from my art activity archive, featuring works from the Paper Object Festival (Supported by EU-Japan Fest), which was held in Riga 2014, Latvia, and M.E.M.O.R.I project, which was held in Matera 2019 as part of the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) festivities.
  2nd: Created an indoor activity designed especially for
  people who have had their freedom restricted by COVID.
• Promotion tool: 
  【the 1st program】
  Facebook→ https://www.facebook.com/kaori.visualart/
  Instagram→kaori_kato_artist
  Messenger 　※Individual message
• Distribution tool: 
  【the 2nd program】
  Youtube Channel→https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnVvzsgsxvFgvpDrJLSyh5Q
  Facebook→https://www.facebook.com/kaori.visualart/
• Number of the audience: 
  【the 1st program】
  Instagram 654（in total）　Visitor of profile per week 70-100
  Like on Facebook Page 199, Follower 207（in total）
  Reach in one week：993,  Engagements： 170（The highest week）
  　　　　　　
  【the 2nd program】
  209 plays（As of 7 July ）