"Mahou," a video work created by children in Ishinomaki as part of the 2019 "Reborn-Art Festival x T Card," won the U-18 Award in the Entertainment category at the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Japan Media Arts Festival!

2020.03.06 Press Releases
T Point Japan Co., Ltd.

T Point Japan Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and COO: Kazuhiko Kitamura) is working onReborn-Art Festival × T-Card" was a video work planned and produced by children of Ishinomaki themselves, presented at the 2019 Reborn-Art Festival (RAF) under the theme "Let's cast a spell on Ishinomaki."magic" was exhibited. We are pleased to announce that our video work "Mahou" has won the U-18 Award in the Entertainment category at the 23rd Japan Media Arts Festival, organized by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.

T Point Japan has been working on the "Reborn-Art Festival × T Card" since June 2017 as part of T Card's social value creation project, "T Card Everyone's Social Project"*1. This initiative continues the concept of the "Tohoku Support Project," which has been running since 2011 to support the smiles of children in Tohoku and create spaces for the community. Meanwhile, RAF is a new comprehensive arts festival where people can enjoy art, music, and food, held mainly in the Ishinomaki and Oshika areas, which were severely damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. The concepts of T-Point and RAF coincided, leading to the collaboration of "Reborn-Art Festival × T-Card."

The Agency for Cultural Affairs' Japan Media Arts Festival is a comprehensive media arts festival that honors outstanding works in four categories: art, entertainment, animation, and manga, and provides opportunities to view the award-winning works. The 23rd Japan Media Arts Festival, sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, received 3,566 submissions from 107 countries and regions across four categories: Art, Entertainment, Animation, and Manga. The video work "Mahou" was selected as the winner of the U-18 Award in the Entertainment category. "Magic" is the third work born from the "Reborn-Art Festival x T Card" project, which began in 2016. The winning work, "Magic," will be exhibited at Miraikan, the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, and other venues from mid-September.

Reason for award
People interpret, think, and express. By repeating this thought and action, we can learn many things and perhaps become the driving force behind change in the world. The Great East Japan Earthquake brought about huge changes. About 10 years later, I have realized many things from watching children understand, think, and express themselves. This work captures the current emotions of various children and is packed with many things that should be preserved. In today's world, where technological tools offer an ever-increasing range of options, should we simply passively receive them, or use them as tools for expression? This film raised the question:(Seiichi Saito, Entertainment Division Jury Member)

■A message from Ayane Kusaka (11 years old)
Wonderful "Magic"
I thought a lot about how to express and turn a piece of work into something that would make everyone smile.
However, seeing everyone working together and gradually creating a wonderful piece of work, even the struggles were a wonderful experience.
Furthermore, I am extremely honored to receive such a wonderful award.

■Comment from Ruka Kusaka (10 years old)
Try making some magic.
The thoughts I put into the magic I created were with the hope that watching this would make people smile and feel a little better.
Also, when making the magic, I drew lots of pictures, thought about things that Ishinomaki would like, and created it with excitement, which was a lot of fun.
I am very happy that "Magic" has been selected for this award. It's like I've been put under a spell.

T Point Japan will support city development and the revitalization of local communities in which children participate through art that draws on children's creativity. We will continue to work to create new social value, with the aim of making T Points and T Cards a force that connects people and society.

■About the video work "Mahou"
To create "Magic," the children participated in numerous workshops*2 to come up with ideas for their work, as well as fieldwork. They then thought about their ideal city, "What would Ishinomaki be like?" and illustrated their dreams and ideals. The animation of the illustrations and scenes filmed by the children were turned into a video work set to the song "Magic" by Takeshi Kobayashi and Salyu, and was unveiled as "Reborn-Art Festival x T Card."The venue where this work was installed (the former Kankeimaru Shoten) also displayed illustrations and objects created during the process of creating the work, as well as a children's artwork "Shell Table" that was exhibited at the RAF in 2017, and together with the video, all were exhibited as a single artwork. This project was completed under the direction of the creative group goen°, with nine children from Ishinomaki, ranging from elementary school to high school students, at its core.

■Project name: Reborn-Art Festival × T-Card

■Project implementation period: June 2, 2017 - December 31, 2019
■Project Overview: In collaboration with Ishinomaki City, the host city of the "Reborn-Art Festival," this project is led by children of Ishinomaki, and involves the participation of both adults and children, creating artwork that will be rooted in the local community and serve as a source of regional revitalization for the future.

■What is the "Reborn-Art Festival"?
This is a new comprehensive arts festival that takes place mainly in the Ishinomaki and Oshika areas, where you can enjoy art, music, and food. The Ishinomaki/Oshika area was one of the areas that suffered major damage in the Great East Japan Earthquake. The aim is for this venue to be a place where contemporary artists from Japan and abroad can visit and create works while interacting with the local community, where famous chefs from all over Japan can encounter local people and ingredients, where they can enjoy food that can only be tasted here, and where various styles of music events can be held, creating a place where various "encounters" can be created.

*1 T-Card's social value creation project utilizes 70.3 million T-members, 6,190 T-Point Alliance companies, and approximately 5 billion pieces of purchasing data provided by the T-Card to give back to society and contribute to consumers.
*2 The Ishinomaki Children's Center "Raitsu" cooperated in conducting the workshop. "Raitsu" is a facility for children planned and designed by children who participate in the Ishinomaki Children's Town Development Club. "This facility was created and is run primarily by children to revitalize Ishinomaki. A place where everyone can feel comfortable and where children can communicate their thoughts to the public. The concept is "a place where children can live together," and the Ishinomaki Children's Center Consortium is the designated manager.

Materials related to this matter

"Mahou," a video work created by children in Ishinomaki as part of the 2019 "Reborn-Art Festival x T Card," won the U-18 Award in the Entertainment category at the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Japan Media Arts Festival!

Inquiries regarding this matter
T Point Japan Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Officer: Ando
TEL: 03-6800-4464