Mercedes-Benz Japan and the Mercedes-Benz Art Collection have been jointly initiating the Mercedes-Benz Art Scope programme since 1991. Their aim is to promote young, talented artists and strengthen cultural exchange between Japan and Europe. The centrepiece is a three-month artist-in-residence scholarship that opens up new horizons for German artists in Tokyo and Japanese creatives in Berlin. The participants immerse themselves in the art scene of the respective country and acquire new stimuli and inspirations for their own artistic work. At the end of 2024, German artist Annika Kahrs took part in the programme and spent almost three months in the Japanese metropolis. In this interview, she tells us about her art, her in-depth involvement with the experimental music scene in Tokyo and her inspiring encounters with local artists.
Annika, you took part in the Mercedes-Benz Art Scope programme organised by Mercedes-Benz Japan in collaboration with our Art Collection in 2024. You spent almost three months in Tokyo for this. Could you please give us a little insight into what exactly you did there?
During my stay in Tokyo, I mainly focussed on the experimental music scene there, for which the city is known worldwide. I travelled a lot to small live venues, attended concerts, got to know people from the scene and conducted interviews. I made field recordings in the city almost every day, capturing all kinds of sounds: Music, melodies, little jingles, like the ones you hear at railway stations, for example. Tokyo has a continuous tapestry of sound, but it is not necessarily intrusive – rather subtle and yet omnipresent.
I also started researching the tanuki figurine – a legendary creature from Japanese mythology. I found the musical and acoustic properties attributed to the tanuki particularly exciting. In this context, I also travelled to Shigaraki, near Kyoto, and met with ceramists who make these tanuki figurines. Another part of my scholarship was the collaboration with Tama Art University in Tokyo: I gave a lecture there and did an experimental sound workshop with the students. That was one of my highlights!
The railway platform in Shigaraki, near Kyoto. Here, the tanuki figures greet you as soon as you arrive. They can be found everywhere in the small town. Photo: Annika Kahrs.
Insight into a ceramics factory in Shigaraki near Kyoto, which produces tanuki figurines. Photo: Annika Kahrs.
Annika Kahrs during her lecture to students at Tama Art University in Tokyo. Here she spoke about her artistic practice and gave a personal insight into her career over the last 15 years. Photo: Arts Initiative Tokyo for Mercedes-Benz Art Scope Programme.
What inspired you to take part in the Art Scope support programme at Mercedes-Benz?
I was particularly attracted by the opportunity to work in Japan for an extended period of time and to enter into a real dialogue with people, environments and different communities. I often work collaboratively, and a key part of what I do is reacting to specific circumstances – many of my works emerge from direct engagement with a particular social or spatial environment. The Art Scope programme has provided precisely this framework: It has given me the time and space to familiarise myself intensively with the new environment and to develop new projects from it.
Tell us more about your art: What characterises your work?
My artistic work usually focuses on sound and music, or rather on people who produce sound or music. My performances and my video and sound installations examine the role that music and sound – i.e. acoustic information – play in different social, cultural and political structures. I understand music both as an artistic material and as a translation tool, a form of communication and a symbol of social systems. Music is never a mere accompaniment in my works, but always an active, equally important component alongside the visuals.
Annika Kahrs, La Banda, 2024. 4K, colour, sound, 22’00”. Courtesy of the artist and Produzentengalerie Hamburg. For her video installation, Annika Kahrs collaborated with the intergenerational orchestra Banda Musicale di Olevano and developed an experimental parade through the alleyways and squares of Olevano Romano, Italy.
Annika Kahrs, Infra Voice, 2018. Three channel video and four channel sound installation, 2K, colour, sound, 10’35”. Courtesy of the artist and Produzentengalerie Hamburg. Photo: Hamburger Kunsthalle (Hamburg Art Museum). The expansive installation in cinematic vertical format 9:16 addresses issues of communication, translation and perception – it shows the world’s largest string instrument, the rare octobass, meeting giraffes.
What are your impressions of Tokyo and the Japanese art scene? Was there anything that immediately fascinated or surprised you – also in the collaboration with local artists or institutions?
Tokyo has a lot to offer if you are interested in art and music. I was impressed by the density of independent venues. Many of them are really tiny – usually only five or ten people fit in – but exciting things are being created there. These places are absolutely essential for musical and artistic experiments – exactly what artistic work absolutely needs.
Of course, I didn’t just move around the music scene, but also visited many museums and galleries – in Tokyo, but also in cities like Kyoto or Fukuoka. I found the Japanese art scene to be very lively, diverse and active. At the same time, it became clear in discussions how difficult it is for young artists in particular to survive in this profession. That’s why I found it all the more impressive how many people still organise themselves and put on their own events. For example, I visited the Benten Festival in Tokyo – an event that combines exhibitions, performances, talks and music. And in Kyoto, I also came across a place organised by the young art scene: VOU is a mixture of exhibition space, shop and event venue. I was also very pleased to meet two former Art Scope programme scholarship holders – Tsuyoshi Hisakado and Yuriko Sasaoka – in Kyoto.
What do you take away from your time in Tokyo – both artistically and personally?
A lot! Both personally and artistically, my time there was full of new impressions, contacts and ideas for future work. What particularly touched me was the openness of the people. I was welcomed everywhere with great friendliness, interest and curiosity. In many ways, my stay in Japan felt like the beginning of new encounters, new work – and hopefully many more trips there.
Annika Kahrs at a sound workshop with students at Tama Art University in Tokyo. Photo: Arts Initiative Tokyo for Mercedes-Benz Art Scope Programme.
You’re now back in Germany – what are you working on now that you’ve spent time in Japan?
I am currently working on developing a new artistic work from the material I collected in Japan. The focus remains on the tanuki. Perhaps I will even create sound sculptures in collaboration with the ceramicists from Shigaraki. I would also like to deepen the exchange with the music scene in Tokyo. There is a lot of potential for future encounters and perhaps joint projects. And I hope to be able to return soon to start realising the projects after this first intensive research phase. My special thanks go to the Mercedes-Benz Art Scope programme and the wonderful team from the Arts Initiative Tokyo organisation, who accompanied me there with such warmth and dedication.