Free admission

Screening of “GAKA” and conversation with artist Tomoko Mukaiyama

Tomoko Mukaiyama is a Dutch-Japanese pianist, performer, and visual artist based in Amsterdam. Integrating different disciplines in her art and music pieces, Mukaiyama investigates the concept of performance and the limits of the concert hall as we know it. Tomoko pushes the boundaries of the classical music world. As a pianist and visual artist, she has a fascination for unconventional contemporary art projects and plays with the conventions surrounding her instrument, her profession, and her performance in a broader sense. The core of her work is communication with the audience in novel forms and settings. As part of this, Tomoko has collaborated with film directors, designers, architects, dancers, and photographers, such as Marina Abramovic, MERZBOW, Jiri Kylian, and Michael Gordon. Among her venues are the Royal Concertgebouw, the Sydney Opera House, and the Yokohama Triennale.

Tomoko studied piano in Tokyo, Indiana (USA), and Amsterdam, after which she debuted in 1990. A year later, Mukaiyama won the prestigious Dutch Gaudeamus competition. As a pianist, Tomoko is praised for her vivid interpretations of classical and modern compositions. Mukaiyama’s art installations and performing arts projects aim to combine music with contemporary dance, fashion, and the visual arts.

In the past, Tomoko has collaborated with a wide variety of international orchestras and ensembles, including the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt, the London Sinfonietta, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, the New York Philharmonic, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Tomoko’s unique approach to the piano has inspired composers, such as Louis Andriessen, to write new works for her.

GAKA

2018

Duration: 25 minutes

GAKA is inspired by kagura, one of the oldest rituals in Japan, in which the sun is attracted through theater, dance, and music — in other words, the wonder of the new day is celebrated.

GAKA was performed in the morning, at sunrise, outdoors, on the islands of Terschelling (Netherlands), Shikoku (Japan), and Kozu (Japan). Twenty dancers sang and played traditional wind instruments and drums. To create GAKA, Tomoko brought together an international group of creators and performers, including Un Yamada, choreography; Ting Gong, set design; and Maxim Shalygin, composition.

GAKA was a co-production of the TMF, the Oerol Festival, and the Kochi Museum of Art. This film was produced by Serious Film and supported by the TMF and the Dutch Film Fund.