Butoh was born in Japan as a new form of dance and has gone on to influence artists around the world. It was Tatsumi Hijikata who gave birth to the art of Butoh, and 2011 marks the 25th anniversary of his passing. The most complete archive of materials on Hijikata and his art is the “Hijikata Tatsumi Archive” of the Research Center for the Arts and Arts Administration, Keio University in Tokyo. This archive was established in 1998 with a core of the materials from the collection of Hijikata’s studio, the Asbestos-kan. One of the initiators of the movement to create this archive, the dance critic Tatsuro Ishii, speaks with curator Takashi Morishita about the archives contents and how they are being put to use.

The Bupyeong Arts Center (893-seat and 339-seat theaters, an outdoor performance space, gallery space, community hall, studio, etc.) opened in April 2010 as a public facility of Bupyeong Ward in Incheon Metropolitan City, South Korea. The Center’s director, Cho Kyung-Hwan, who has studied in Japan and has visited many of its public theaters and arts facilities, as well as those of other countries, in his ongoing search for new potential in community-rooted arts facilities. In this interview, Director Cho talks about the guiding philosophy of his Center and plans for the future, including an artist residence program opening with a new facility in October and collaborative programs on the horizon with Japanese centers.