Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

116 REFIGURATION OF IDENTITIES AND FUTURES IN TIMES OF TRANSFORMATIONin Manila is one example of how art can intervene tosupport the process of recovery. There, I was fortunateto be able to collaborate with Alma Quinto, a Filipinaartist, as well as with caregivers and administrators whohave been working with sexually abused girls for yearsand built trusting relationships with them. It is essentialto establish trust between artists, therapists and sufferersin order for this kind of art project to succeed. Beginningwith the planning process, it should be collaborative;otherwise, it will just be another exploitation of thesufferers as objects in the name of art. Also, it shoulddiffer from so-called “art therapy” where, in most cases,artists instruct the victims to create some artwork fromtheir experiences. While it is not without merit, I thinkit often leaves the sufferers remaining in their victimhood.It is not enough to merely recount their pastexperiences, it should give them a new meaning andsignificance and provide a way to recognize and recoverfrom them. It is also important to design such a projectas an “open” rather than a “closed” one. Of course theprivacy and safety of the victims should be the priority,but public participation and interaction is a vital partin order to elevate personal problems to social ones.From my past experiences, “closed” art projects mayhelp solidify a certain group identity and provide safety,but they often deteriorate into self-pity and internalpower struggles. Controlled “open” projects enable realempowerment to all participants through collaborationand interaction.In the future, I would like to develop a new art projectbased on the findings of this project and hope to bringit to the same regions I visited this time. I would alsolike to report my findings back home in Japan, wherefamily-related social problems have become more visibleof late, but where public awareness and the politicizationof these causes are still underdeveloped.End words: “The personal is the political”This is a famous feminist thesis, which I believe is stillrelevant. This whole project is an embodiment of thisthesis. There are many oppressed people who remainvoiceless and are made to blame themselves and to resignthemselves to their “destiny.” Sharing, empathizing andcollectively seeking justice and recovery is not just aneed of feminists, but a universal need. I hope my artproject can contribute to this effort in the future.Asian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows