Japan's Saga Prefecture opened Holland House

On Saturday 17 March, Saga's Holland House opened door to the public with exhibition presented by Scholten & Baijings and artist in residency Thessa Meijer. The Holland House in Saga promotes Dutch culture, art and design. It is based in a former bank built in 1934 and renovated along the 'adaptive reuse' principle. Saga Prefecture took the initiative to establish this ten-month location as it regards Holland as a source of inspiration to its inhabitants and Japan at large. The Holland House offers Dutch artists, designers, makers and experts on different aspects of Dutch society a chance to work and present themselves in Japan. The Holland House is a tangible result of a long term commitment between the Dutch embassy and Saga Prefecture with the support of DutchCulture.

Saga Holland House
The Holland House in Saga is a 10 month only cultural institute that promotes Dutch culture and design in Saga. It has been established by Saga Prefecture to celebrate the lively exchange between Saga and the Netherlands as part of the Hizen-Saga Bakumatsu Meiji Restoration Expo which commemorates the role of Saga in the modernization of Japan 150 years ago. Saga was at the forefront in this modernization due to knowledge from the West which was introduced in Japan by the Dutch in Dejima. It is Saga’s ambition to once again import new ideas in Japan through presentation of Dutch ideas on design, art, architecture, water management and lifestyle via the Holland House.

A Thematic Programme
The themes of Holland House are design, art, architecture, water management and lifestyle:
Dutch design proofed its strength by giving new impulses to the local industry of Saga in the 2016/ Arita project. The exhibition schedule of the Holland House kicked off with a presentation of new work by Studio Scholten & Baijings. Amsterdam-based Studio The Future established by Vincent Schipper and Klara van Duijkeren selected four makers from different disciplines for the residency program of the House: documentary maker Thessa Meijer, graphic designer Gilles de Brock, artist Victor Engbers and (public space) design studio Krijn Christiaansen & Cathelijne Montens. They have their open studio in the Holland House to promote interaction with the Saga community and a second gallery space is used to exhibit the work of the former resident.

The Holland House is housed in an old bank building from 1934 which has been reformed by Japanese architect Hiroshi Nishimura who applied the renovation method of adaptive reuse - also known in Japan as 'Dutch renovation' - with help from architect Koen Klinkers and the Japan Netherlands Architecture Cultural Association (JNACA). Another important theme is water as there are many creeks in Saga City. The Dutch way of using waterfronts and our Dutch way of co-existing with water are referred to in activating the water surfaces in the city; the creek next to the Holland House is used to experiment with these aspects. Furthermore, a series of lectures on different facets of life in the Netherlands will be held throughout the year and coordinated by architect Daiki Nakagawa, office manager of JNACA for which experts will be invited from the Netherlands. …and these are just the basic themes: the House will also be used to present other contents from the Netherlands that will come to the area such as Dutch musicians.

Saga and the Netherlands
The exchange between Saga and the Netherlands was rekindled in 2013 when Saga Prefecture and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands commenced a collaboration in the field of creative industries to revitalize the local ceramics industry with Dutch design. Dutch design has special attention in this region as it was the Dutch merchants in the 17th century who transported ceramics from this region in great amounts over Europe. Apart from the successful collaboration on design and art which resulted in the 2016/ Arita porcelain and an artist in residency, the relation developed into a broad exchange with regular performances by Dutch jazz and classical musicians, exchange between high-school students, sports exchange, etc.

Details:
Organizer: Saga Prefecture
Address: Gofuku-motomachi 8-1, Saga City, Saga Prefecture
Period: 17 March 2018 - 14 January 2019
Opening hours: 10:30-18:30hr, (April-September 10:30-20:00hr) No closing days, free of charge
www.hollandhouse-saga.com