Koza X MiXtopia Research Center
Project of Koza MiXtopia Inc.
Possibility
Koza X MiXtopia Research Center was established on June 2, 2019, in the Teruya district of Okinawa City (formerly, Koza) to build a solid foundation to pass on to the next team of creative individuals who carry the center's vision and mission forward in the imagination and the possibilities available of their time and place. The center serves as an experimental research lab to conduct research, hold events, and build archives. The center is interested in how knowledge is produced (who, what, when, where, and why).
Projects: Ar(t)chives
Projects employ grounded approach and come into fruition at the intersection of archival materials and community interests in producing a series of Ar(t)chive. Ar(t)chive functions simultaneously as archive and artwork. It is a performance art research method that transforms archives into series of artworks.
Maps of Teruya
The first volume of the Map of Teruya was created in December 2019. The map, which has never existed, archives the business that operated during the American occupation on Okinawa islands and four years after the end of occupation (1952 -1976), serving Okinawans and black American soldiers.
Exhibits
Ideas and materials for the exhibits come from MiXtory (history, story and mystery as a unit) that people share, and as such these exhibits embody the voices and experiences of the people who participate in the co-production of knowledge about the lived experiences and the sense of the place.
Community Support
At Koza X MiXtopia Research Center, we are involved in the current project in the plans to rebuilding the community impacted by the long periods of the economic downturn. As a member of an ad-hoc association called Torino kai, we meet, discuss, and plan how we as individuals can assit in realizing the goals of creating a viable future of this place. In that endeavor, the center works with the stakeholders from various sectors of society locally and internationally.