Kitagawa Fram School: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Art Festivals—59th Edition: Screening and Talk on Ukrainian Films “Letter to a Turtle Dove” and “Gray Land” Guest: Dana Kaverina

Events

Kitagawa Fram School: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Art Festivals—59th Edition: Screening and Talk on Ukrainian Films “Letter to a Turtle Dove” and “Gray Land” Guest: Dana Kaverina

Summary

Talk

The Kitagawa Fram Academy is a program designed to explore the background of regional art festivals.

Continuing from the previous session, “Kitagawa Fram Academy: A Cross-Sectional Study of Art Festivals” will feature talks by experts in various fields related to art festivals, while also introducing initiatives not only from the “Echigo-Tsumari Art Field” but also from other regional art festivals (such as the “Setouchi International Art Festival” and the “Oku-Noto International Art Festival”).

<Program>

Kitagawa Fram School: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to the Arts Festival—59th Edition: Screening & Talk on the Ukrainian Films Letter to a Turtle Dove and Gray Land; Guest: Dana Kaverina

For this edition of the Kitagawa Fram School, we are pleased to welcome Ukrainian filmmaker and artist Dana Kaverina, who will be visiting Japan for the first time in September 2026. During her visit, Ms. Kaverina plans to screen several of her artworks—including her latest work, *Gray Land*, which focuses on the war in Ukraine—at various locations, and she will be staying at “Noto Suzu House,” a residency facility established in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, an area affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

At this session of the Kitagawa Fram School, in addition to the screening of two video works, we will present a dialogue between Kitagawa and Kaverina, in which she will discuss her artworks, art during wartime, and her impressions of her stay in Suzu.

▼Upcoming Films

"A Letter to the Japanese Wood Pigeon" (2020 / 20 min.)

Centered on the war in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine that began in 2014, the film weaves together archival footage of the Los Angeles Watts Riots and the Romanian Revolution, as well as the artist’s own collages. It is an artwork that reexamines the current war through the lens of historical events and a chain of memories. Part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. (20 min.)

"The Gray Land" (2026 / 32 min.)

It is not only humans who suffer in war. The film depicts the flora, fauna, and land of the war-torn Ukrainian battlefield, as well as the people living there, and contrasts the peaceful past with the harsh present through the eyes of people and cows who recall happier days.

Guest Profile

Dana Kaverina
An artist and filmmaker born in 1995 in Melitopol, Nanbu Ukraine. She graduated from the Department of Graphic Design at the National Technical University of Ukraine and is currently based in Lviv, while also working primarily in Europe, including Berlin. While animation and video are her primary means of expression, she creates artworks that combine installation, painting, graphic design, and text.

At the heart of Kaverina’s artwork are themes such as war, political violence, memory, history, death, and REBIRTH. Through animation and video, she expresses individual experiences that fall outside the grand narratives of history, memories that are difficult for those who have not directly experienced war to grasp, and the continuity between the present and the past.

She has participated in international exhibitions and art festivals, including The Kyiv Perennial (Vienna), the 60th Venice Biennale, and the M HKA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in Antwerp. In 2023, her work *Letter to a Turtle Dove* was featured at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art, New York), drawing attention within the international context of video art.In Japan, he has participated in the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field Triennale (2024), Gero Art Discovery (2026), and the exhibition “Gazing at Cracks III” (2026).

In 2022, he won the Main Prize at the 7th PinchukArtCentre Prize, which honors young contemporary artists from Ukraine. He was also shortlisted for the Future Generation Art Prize 2024, which recognizes young contemporary artists from around the world.

Kitagawa Fram

Born in 1946 in Takada City, Niigata Prefecture (now Joetsu City). Graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts (History of Buddhist Sculpture).In 1982, he established Art Front Gallery Co., Ltd. His major curatorial projects include the “Antoni Gaudí Exhibition,” the “No to Apartheid! International Art Exhibition,” and the “Fare Tachikawa Art Project.” As part of his efforts to foster community development through art, he has served as the general director of events such as the “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale” and the “Setouchi International Art Festival.”

■ Books Related to the Regional Arts Festival

Click here for details

<Details & Registration>

[Date and Time] Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 7:00 PM–9:00 PM (Doors open at 6:50 PM)

[Location] Art Front Gallery (Daikanyama / Zoom participation available)

Hillside Terrace Building A, 29-18 Sarugaku-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0033

[Fees]

・Venue / Zoom participation (Adults): 2,000 yen

・Venue / Zoom participation (Students): 500 yen

・Annual Pass (Adults): 15,000 yen (flat-rate plan)

・Annual Pass (Students): 5,000 yen (flat-rate plan)

*Students purchasing the student plan will be asked to provide proof of student status after registration.

You can sign up for the annual plan here.

Click here to apply

<Archive>

[Past Guests]
・Episode 1: Yoshiki Nanjo (Artist), Kiyoshi Kawamura (National Museum of Japanese History)
・Episode 2: Oriza Hirata (Playwright and Director)
・Episode 3: Keizo Kioku (Photographer)
・Episode 4: Toshikatsu Kiuchi, Taichi Sunayama (Architects)
・Episode 5: Yoichi Tao, Atsushi Yano, and Kengo Sato (individuals focused on activities in Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture)
・Episode 6: Shunya Yoshimi (sociologist, Professor at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo)
・Episode 7: Toshiya Fukuda (Communications Director, “Oku-Noto International Art Festival”)
・Episode 8: Shigeru Ban (architect)
・Session 9: Kawamata Tadashi (Visual Artist)
・Session 10: Tomoko Konoike (Artist)
・Session 11: Kenji Kajiya, Daisuke Awata (Editors of Yusuke Nakahara’s *Art in Society*)
・Session 12: Moderator: Kitagawa Fram
・Session 13: Arishi Genda(Professor, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo)
・Session 14: Min Tanaka (Dancer)
・Session 15: Daisuke Tsuda (Activist)
・Session 16: Takamasa Namikoshi (My Farm Co., Ltd.)
・Session 17: Tomoharu Onozuka (Professor by Special Appointment, University of Tokyo)
・Session 18: Noi Sawaragi (Art Critic)
・Session 19: Yoichi Kibata (Historian)
・Session 20: Hiraki Sawa & SIDE CORE (Artists)
・Session 21: Yukio Nishimura (Professor, Kokugakuin University; Dean, Faculty of Tourism and Urban Development)
・Session 22: Ukyo Satake (Former CO-CEO, Grameen Euglena)
・Session 23: Luxury Logico [Kogaku Roki Kō], Maria Fernanda Cardoso, Kanji Yumizashi (Artists participating in the “Oku-Noto International Art Festival 2023”)
・Session 24: Kitagawa Fram
・Session 25: Yu Sato (Artist)
・26th: Fukasawa Takafumi (Artist)
・27th: Toru Mio (Financial Expert)
・28th: Hiroki Azuma (Philosopher)
・29th: Tetsuya Umeda, Junnosuke Tada (Artists participating in the “Uchiboso Art Festival”)
・30th: Takemi Kurezawa (Art Critic)
・Episode 31: Obana Kenichi, Kota Takeuchi (Artists participating in the “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2024”)
・Episode 32: Kenji Kai (Artistic Director, Sendai Mediatheque)
・Episode 33: Moderator: Kitagawa Fram (Echigo-Tsumari from the Point of View of Isobe Yukihisa)
・Episode 34: Rudel Mo, Ekaterina Muromtseva (Northern Alps International Art Festival 2024)
・Episode 35: Endo Toshikatsu, Tetsu Ukai (Artists participating in Minami-Hida Art Discovery; Market Planning / Tami Life Development Co., Ltd.)
・Episode 36: Kitagawa Fram
・Issue 37: Jacob Mo, Torus Vil. (Artists)
・Issue 38: Wakato Onishi (Asahi Shimbun)
・Issue 39: Masatsugu Ono (Novelist)
・Issue 40: Kitagawa Fram “Architect Hiroshi Hara and the History of the Art Festival”
・Episode 41: Kitagawa Fram, “Setouchi International Art Festival 2025”
・Episode 42: Leonid Chishkov, Marina Moskvina (Participating Artists in the “Setouchi International Art Festival 2025”)
・Episode 43: Tatsufumi Fujiwara (Agricultural History Researcher)
・Episode 44: Reiji Ando (Literary Critic)
・Episode 45: Nikita Kadan (Artist)
・Episode 46: Kitagawa Fram “Regional Challenges and the Vision of the Art Festival”
・Episode 47: Christian Bastian (Artist), Anna Aliyeva (Curator, National Art Museum of Ukraine)
・Episode 48: Hajime Kurokawa (Writer)
・Episode 49: “Everyone’s School Project” – Rie Hirakawa (Educator)
・Episode 50: Mari Urabe (Physician / Representative, Uzawa International Academy)
・Episode 51: Noi Sawaragi (Art Critic)
・Episode 52: Yasuhiro Taguchi (3710Lab Minato Lab, General Incorporated Association)
・Episode 53: Sei Hara (Linguistic Sociologist)
・Episode 54: “Everyone’s School” Project
・Special Edition (Episode 55): Forms of Reconstruction Unlocked by Art—From Oku-Noto and Suzu (Featuring: Kaitaro Abe (Composer), Keishi Nagatsuka (Director), Yoshimitsu Ikeyanai (Chairman, Suzu Chongari Research Society))
Episode 55: Special Episode—Kaitaro Abe, Keishi Nagatsuka, Yoshimitsu Ikeyauchi
Episode 56: Hideyo Sengoku
Episode 57: Mounir Fatumi, Trevor Yong
Episode 58: Kan Miyake

Click here for past event reports

A Look Back at Past Flam School Sessions (Season 2)

December 13, 2021 Keizo Oku

(Left) October 11, 2021: Yoshiki Nanjo, Kiyoshi Kawamura / (Right) November 22, 2021: Oriza Hirata

A Look Back at Past Flam School Sessions (Season 1)

December 27, 2020: Cleaning and Maintenance Workshop for Komatsu Kosei’s artwork “Winter Circlet”

November 1, 2020: “Australia House” Fall Gathering (Snow Fencing)

October 20, 2020: Environmental Improvement Workshop Featuring Takano Landscape as the Instructor

Saturday, October 3, 2020: Kawamata Tadashi Artwork Workshop at the Shimizu Museum

Sunday, September 13, 2020: Cleanup Workshop at “POTEMKIN,” an artwork by the Architect Office Casagrande & Rintala

Sunday, August 30, 2020: Rice Harvesting Workshop

Saturday, August 22: Matsudai Castle Cleanup Workshop with Author Kurakake Junichi

Saturday, August 22: Workshop with Author Kurakake Junichi to Carve the Artwork “Offerings from the earth”

Friday, July 24: Cleanup Workshop with Author Asai Yusuke and His artwork “Choma” (photo by Noriko YONEAYMA)

Booking On-line

Summary

Date and time	Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. (Doors open at 6:50 p.m.)
Venue	[Location] Art Front Gallery (Daikanyama / Zoom participation available) Hillside Terrace Building A, 29-18 Sarugaku-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0033
Admission	・Venue Participation (Adults): 2,000 yen ・Venue Participation (Students): 500 yen ・Annual Participation (Adults): 15,000 yen (flat-rate plan) ・Annual Participation (Students): 5,000 yen (flat-rate plan)

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