ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Creative Clay’s exhibit that honors the Sister City relationship between St. Petersburg and Takamatsu, Japan, opens Oct. 14 at the St. Petersburg Museum of History.
Creative Clay’s relationship with Takamatsu began in 2001 when Creative Clay traveled to Japan to teach the Artlink program mentorship and job training program to Japanese arts instructors and artists.
This anniversary exhibit features 30 pelican paintings that are part of an arts exchange with Heart Artlink artists from Takamatsu and Creative Clay member artists. Creative Clay sent black pelican line drawings using acrylic paint marker on white canvasses for Takamatsu artists to paint. In exchange, artists from Heart Artlink Takamatsu sent Creative Clay artists fans, lanterns and fabric for a lion costume to paint. Artists from Heart Artlink and Creative Clay painted pieces of fabric that became the final costume for a lion dance. They also sent a large lion head using the Japanese construction method called hariko, a technique of paper construction with a hollow center that Creative Clay member artist Ali V. painted.
The Sister City celebration in Takamatsu is Oct. 30 and will include an exhibition of the collaboration between Creative Clay and Heart Artlink. Another celebration March 9, 2022, in Takamatsu will include the painted pelicans, and lanterns and fans. There also will be a performance of the Lion Dance at a festival. Creative Clay will view the dance on video and create their own version.
“This partnership produced a mutual understanding and friendship between Creative Clay and Heart Artlink in Takamatsu,” said Creative Clay CEO Kim Dohrman. “We look forward to the public viewing the exhibit, which runs through Oct. 30. St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society (SPIFFS) has been a great partner, providing costs for the shipping of the artwork to Takamatsu, as well as paying for the professional dancers to lead the Creative Clay artists in their version of the Lion Dance.”
“Art has been an important part of the 60-year Sister City relationship between St. Petersburg and Takamatsu,” said Kathy Michaels, Chair, St. Petersburg/Takamatsu 60th Anniversary Task Force, SPIFFS.
“For years, Perkins Elementary School students provided artwork for the Takamatsu Winter Festival. When we began discussing this year’s celebration with Naoko Miyake, Chief of the Intergovernmental Office in Takamatsu, she stated that Mayor Onishi’s top priority was an art exchange between Creative Clay and Heart Artlink. Creative Clay has gone the extra mile to make this happen.”
For the Creative Clay artists, collaborating with the Heart Artlink artists of Takamatsu is another component to representing St. Petersburg, known as a city of the arts. Sister City relationships foster positivity and increase understanding of another’s culture, which is reflective of Creative Clay’s mission of inclusivity and accessibility. The opportunity to exhibit this collaborative work at the St. Petersburg Museum of History (SPMOH) is another example of the nonprofits’ history of working together.
“It has been an honor to partner with Creative Clay for over a decade, proudly displaying art pieces from their summer camp projects,” said Rui Farias, director SPMOH. “We’re excited about teaming up with Creative Clay to celebrate the city’s 60th anniversary with our sister city Takamatsu, Japan.”
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman will join Japanese Consul General K. Nakai on Oct. 14 for a tour of the pelican painting exhibit.
“Our sixty-year Sister City relationship with Takamatsu, Japan, continues to provide a wealth of inspiration,” said Kriseman. “I am looking forward to seeing the official bird of the City of St. Petersburg, made colorful by our friends at Heart Artlink, exhibited at the St. Petersburg Museum of History next week. Creative projects like this are a critical part of what makes St. Petersburg an international arts destination. I want to thank our Sister City of Takamatsu, as well as Artlink Japan, for their partnership and our friends at Creative Clay for being such an important part of Florida’s best city.”
BACKGROUND
The idea for this partnership was born in 2001, when Creative Clay representatives traveled to Japan to teach the Artlink mentorship program. Creative Clay raised money to bring Artlink Japan to St. Petersburg. The first Artlink Japan exhibit was at the Florida Craftsman Gallery in 2003.
Twice, Creative Clay representatives traveled to Takamatsu, where they participated in team meetings and discussions. Creative Clay implemented that ideology of inclusion and desire to recognize and consider all voices around the table into its management and teaching practices.
In 2010, Heart Artlink began ArtLink activities in Takamatsu, at the internationally acclaimed festival, Setouchi International Art Festival. In 2013, Creative Clay hosted another Artlink Japan exhibit, featuring a rabbit balloon sent from Japan. Creative Clay member artists added calligraphy to the balloon before returning it to Japan.
In 2016, “Takamatsu ArtLink Project 2016” was part of 2016 Setouchi International Art Festival. Japan continued the Artlink program, which has operated through 2021. They’ve trained arts professionals in other parts of Japan and around the world in the practice of implementing the Artlink artist-mentor program.
ABOUT CREATIVE CLAY
Creative Clay’s vision is to make the arts accessible to all. Its mission is to help people with disabilities achieve full and inclusive lives through access to the arts by providing expressive, educational, and vocational experiences.
Creative Clay’s core program is its Community Arts Program, which serves 50-60 adult artists with neuro-differences each week. Through the implementation of additional offerings, such as the inclusive Art Around the World summer camp, Summer Studio for older teens and young adults, Artlink employment program, Creative Care Arts in Wellness outreach program, and its Pinellas County Schools’ partnership Transition program, individuals of all ages and abilities are mentored, taught and empowered to become working artists who actively create, market and sell their work.
Creative Clay’s Virtual Gallery also includes the artwork of Creative Clay’s member artists. All artwork is for sale through our online gallery at creativeclay.org.
Learn more about Creative Clay, its vision of equality through art, and its programs at www.creativeclay.org. Like Creative Clay on Facebook, follow on Instagram @creativeclaystpete; follow on Twitter @creativeclay and on LinkedIn.
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Creative Clay’s new exhibit celebrates
St. Pete-Takamatsu sister city partnership
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Creative Clay’s exhibit that honors the Sister City relationship between St. Petersburg and Takamatsu, Japan, opens Oct. 14 at the St. Petersburg Museum of History.
Creative Clay’s relationship with Takamatsu began in 2001 when Creative Clay traveled to Japan to teach the Artlink program mentorship and job training program to Japanese arts instructors and artists.
This anniversary exhibit features 30 pelican paintings that are part of an arts exchange with Heart Artlink artists from Takamatsu and Creative Clay member artists. Creative Clay sent black pelican line drawings using acrylic paint marker on white canvasses for Takamatsu artists to paint. In exchange, artists from Heart Artlink Takamatsu sent Creative Clay artists fans, lanterns and fabric for a lion costume to paint. Artists from Heart Artlink and Creative Clay painted pieces of fabric that became the final costume for a lion dance. They also sent a large lion head using the Japanese construction method called hariko, a technique of paper construction with a hollow center that Creative Clay member artist Ali V. painted.
The Sister City celebration in Takamatsu is Oct. 30 and will include an exhibition of the collaboration between Creative Clay and Heart Artlink. Another celebration March 9, 2022, in Takamatsu will include the painted pelicans, and lanterns and fans. There also will be a performance of the Lion Dance at a festival. Creative Clay will view the dance on video and create their own version.
“This partnership produced a mutual understanding and friendship between Creative Clay and Heart Artlink in Takamatsu,” said Creative Clay CEO Kim Dohrman. “We look forward to the public viewing the exhibit, which runs through Oct. 30. St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society (SPIFFS) has been a great partner, providing costs for the shipping of the artwork to Takamatsu, as well as paying for the professional dancers to lead the Creative Clay artists in their version of the Lion Dance.”
“Art has been an important part of the 60-year Sister City relationship between St. Petersburg and Takamatsu,” said Kathy Michaels, Chair, St. Petersburg/Takamatsu 60th Anniversary Task Force, SPIFFS.
“For years, Perkins Elementary School students provided artwork for the Takamatsu Winter Festival. When we began discussing this year’s celebration with Naoko Miyake, Chief of the Intergovernmental Office in Takamatsu, she stated that Mayor Onishi’s top priority was an art exchange between Creative Clay and Heart Artlink. Creative Clay has gone the extra mile to make this happen.”
For the Creative Clay artists, collaborating with the Heart Artlink artists of Takamatsu is another component to representing St. Petersburg, known as a city of the arts. Sister City relationships foster positivity and increase understanding of another’s culture, which is reflective of Creative Clay’s mission of inclusivity and accessibility. The opportunity to exhibit this collaborative work at the St. Petersburg Museum of History (SPMOH) is another example of the nonprofits’ history of working together.
“It has been an honor to partner with Creative Clay for over a decade, proudly displaying art pieces from their summer camp projects,” said Rui Farias, director SPMOH. “We’re excited about teaming up with Creative Clay to celebrate the city’s 60th anniversary with our sister city Takamatsu, Japan.”
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman will join Japanese Consul General K. Nakai on Oct. 14 for a tour of the pelican painting exhibit.
“Our sixty-year Sister City relationship with Takamatsu, Japan, continues to provide a wealth of inspiration,” said Kriseman. “I am looking forward to seeing the official bird of the City of St. Petersburg, made colorful by our friends at Heart Artlink, exhibited at the St. Petersburg Museum of History next week. Creative projects like this are a critical part of what makes St. Petersburg an international arts destination. I want to thank our Sister City of Takamatsu, as well as Artlink Japan, for their partnership and our friends at Creative Clay for being such an important part of Florida’s best city.”
BACKGROUND
The idea for this partnership was born in 2001, when Creative Clay representatives traveled to Japan to teach the Artlink mentorship program. Creative Clay raised money to bring Artlink Japan to St. Petersburg. The first Artlink Japan exhibit was at the Florida Craftsman Gallery in 2003.
Twice, Creative Clay representatives traveled to Takamatsu, where they participated in team meetings and discussions. Creative Clay implemented that ideology of inclusion and desire to recognize and consider all voices around the table into its management and teaching practices.
In 2010, Heart Artlink began ArtLink activities in Takamatsu, at the internationally acclaimed festival, Setouchi International Art Festival. In 2013, Creative Clay hosted another Artlink Japan exhibit, featuring a rabbit balloon sent from Japan. Creative Clay member artists added calligraphy to the balloon before returning it to Japan.
In 2016, “Takamatsu ArtLink Project 2016” was part of 2016 Setouchi International Art Festival. Japan continued the Artlink program, which has operated through 2021. They’ve trained arts professionals in other parts of Japan and around the world in the practice of implementing the Artlink artist-mentor program.
ABOUT CREATIVE CLAY
Creative Clay’s vision is to make the arts accessible to all. Its mission is to help people with disabilities achieve full and inclusive lives through access to the arts by providing expressive, educational, and vocational experiences.
Creative Clay’s core program is its Community Arts Program, which serves 50-60 adult artists with neuro-differences each week. Through the implementation of additional offerings, such as the inclusive Art Around the World summer camp, Summer Studio for older teens and young adults, Artlink employment program, Creative Care Arts in Wellness outreach program, and its Pinellas County Schools’ partnership Transition program, individuals of all ages and abilities are mentored, taught and empowered to become working artists who actively create, market and sell their work.
Creative Clay’s Virtual Gallery also includes the artwork of Creative Clay’s member artists. All artwork is for sale through our online gallery at creativeclay.org.
Learn more about Creative Clay, its vision of equality through art, and its programs at www.creativeclay.org. Like Creative Clay on Facebook, follow on Instagram @creativeclaystpete; follow on Twitter @creativeclay and on LinkedIn.