人2024.03.22
Hamamatsu Creative City Booster Project
The Hamamatsu Creative City Promotion Council titles creative initiatives enacted by citizens “Creative Core Projects” and began promoting them to the public in 2021. We hope that by sharing information about the city’s creative initiatives, more people will gain new ideas and hints for their own activities.
This year, we would like to share with you the five most noteworthy projects, which are known as “Monitoring Projects”.
Hamamatsu Creative City Booster Project / Hamamatsu Creative City Booster Project Executive Committee
What kind of projects are you involved in?
We host creative workshops lead by expert instructors working both locally and outside the city in various creative fields with the aim of fostering creative awareness among participants and overcoming barriers that hinder creative activity.
We heard from those at the heart of the project.
OTA Harunobu
What are your roles?
As a member of the Creative City Promotion Group at the Creative Cities & Cultural Promotion Division at City Hall, I am involved in promoting creative activities including this project.
What led you to get involved in this initiative?
We believe that an increased number of citizens engaging in creative activities within the city will in turn boost the city’s vitality. We have started this project in the hopes that these workshops will serve as a catalyst in doing so.4
What is the special point of this initiative?
The best part of the project is that I get the opportunity to plan interesting workshops for citizens all while having fun doing so. My colleagues have been a tremendous in helping with the fine-tuning of these workshops. It is rewarding to get positive comments, such as “I was able to try something new” or “I felt a sense of accomplishment thanks to this workshop” from our participants.
What do you want our readers to know about this initiative?
Experience is important.
Why do you want your readers to know this?
Nowadays, thanks to the internet, we can find all information and things we want in a matter of a few clicks. However, one thing that you can’t acquire through this jumble of cables and screens is real experience. Only from experience, even the experience of failure, can you truly learn. What I want to convey is that we shouldn’t be afraid to fail or make mistakes, and that it is important to pursue new encounters and experiences in life. There are many opportunities all around you so why not make the most of them!
Tips to our readers who want to start something new
It’s sometimes tough to come up with ideas. However, by using the activities of others as a reference point and brainstorming with group members, you can find new ideas. It is important to keep your ear to the ground to collect information, but I think the most crucial thing is to take action first. Whether it`s success or failure, neither are achieved without taking action, and there are a lot of things that you can`t fully understand until you actually try for yourself. I always endeavor to seek out improvement through trial and error.
Message to our readers
To get an idea of what these workshops are like, please take a look at our reports from former workshops on our website.
From here, we will introduce each initiative in more detail.
A place of experience: stepping stones to new discoveries and activities~See some workshops held in FY2023 here~.
Music Making Workshop
We hosted a workshop targeted at 4th graders in elementary school through to 3rd graders in junior high to create their own chorus using the iOS app GarageBand. The aim of this workshop was to teach children how to make and share music more intuitively, without the need for instruments or sheet music, by utilizing smartphone software. We also held a workshop where kids could create short melodies called sound logos or jingles.
Feedback from a participant
I applied for the workshop because I am learning piano, guitar, drums and singing, and like Vocalo-P artists. Although I was a little apprehensive at first since I had never composed music before, my eager to give it a try was greater so I asked my mom to apply right away when I saw the flyer for the workshop.
I found it more difficult to write lyrics than create a melody. It’s a struggle to write lyrics that fit the music. The workshop taught me everything from the basics of music, how to use the app, how to post online, and how to make a short videos. Thanks to this, I can now compose music on my own.
I really enjoyed making new friends and interacting with new people through this workshop. I hope to make many new songs on based on what I learnt in the workshop. (6th grade student)
Bread Making Workshop
Targeted at men over 60 years old, in this workshop participants learn baking from a professional baker. We aim to raise the number of elderly people who play an active role in the local community based on their experience in this workshop. In the last session, the participants donated their baked goods to local children’s cafeterias.
Feedback from a participant
I applied because I`ve always been interested in food by nature and thought it would be interesting to try my hand at baking. To be honest, initially I wasn’t that interesting in donating bread to the children’s cafeterias which was the overall aim of this project. However, when I actually delivered the bread to the cafeterias, I felt a great sense of joy and accomplishment by seeing the joy on their faces.
I got inspired seeing how actively involved the other participants were in society. I realized life is enriched by experience and you never know what you are capable of unless you try. As I’m getting older, rather than hiding away at home, I would take interest in and challenge myself to try many new things. (participant in his 60s)
