Class archive as community collections - KCUA

This step introduces another unique collection of the Archival Research Center at Kyoto City University of Arts (KCUA).

This university has been undertaking a unique initiative: archiving a mandatory class for all first-year students, which has been ongoing for over 50 years. Let’s watch the video from our visit to the campus in Kyoto City.

The Archival Research Center, KCUA

The Archival Research Center (芸術資源研究センター、芸資研 Geishiken) is an investigative and research institution of KCUA that was established in 2014. KCUA, with its origins in the founding of the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting in 1880, has a long history, and its community boasts various artworks and materials stemming from education and research. These are being redefined as “art resources” and nurtured as “archives for creation,” with the aim of Geishiken to generate new artistic creations through research activities.

General Basic Practical Skills (Soukiso) Archive

General Basic Practical Skills (soukiso) Archive collects syllabuses, student register, photos of assignments, administrative documents, audio recordings, videos, and more from the class “General Basic Practical Skills” that all first-year Fine Arts students take over the first semester (half-year). Initiated by Mr. Akihiko Inoue, the archiving work originally progressed during the half-year without the course. However, since 2014, it has been advanced as a project of the Archival Research Center.

Here are the individuals involved in the archiving work who also appear in the video:

	Tomohisa Sato Professor at the Archival Research Center, KCUA
	Akihiko Inoue Former professor at the faculty of fine arts, KCUA First focused on the archiving of soukiso In the video, he delivered a special lecture on the theme of soukiso, reflecting on the top 10 highlights from past classes.
	Maha Hirata Artist, in charge of archiving works She utilizes the experience from this work in personal art creations and activities as a lecturer.
	Gaku Kurokawa Artist, in charge of archiving works He says, “Continuing the soukiso archive itself has become a place where various people get involved and it leads to something new.”
	Hiroshi Fujioka Researcher, in charge of archiving works He advocate for the term “archiving” which implies a constant search for change instead of solidifying an archive once it’s created.