UEHARA Keigo (Representative of Teizan Canal Club / Representative of The Field Next to Home for All)
As I was searching around for ways to be involved in reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake, I unfolded a map of Miyagi Prefecture to think about things and realized that one of the places thought to have been severely damaged was the Teizan Canal. When I went to the canal to take a look, I felt that something had to be done about it, and wondered if there were ways that it could be used as a valuable resource. Since then, I have had discussions and exchanged information with members of the Teizan Canal Research Center and have worked on a range of things with people from the Shinhama Neighborhood Association. In June 2019, I started up my activities as the Teizan Canal Club, in which everyone is welcome to take part.
The Teizan Canal is a relic of the earthquake that is part of our public works heritage. I want it to become the kind of place that people want to go and see, be they Japanese or from overseas. As an artist, Mr. Kawamata has fans all over the world, so I do hope that the canal will attract many people who know that his work can be found here.
Starting 2019, five of us have been leasing the land next to Home for All in Shinhama and have called it The Field Next to Home for All. Right now, the main focus of our work is still growing vegetables, but we are starting to think about different things we could do to make it a place where people can come and have fun together.
（Source: Quarterly Machiryoku, vol. 36 , published by Sendai Cultural Foundation, 2019）