~30 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake~ Children's drawings and activity record exhibition, drawing and craft workshop held

From Friday, March 21st to Sunday, March 30th, an exhibition was held at the Otemae Art Center to look back on the activities of the volunteer group "Pintura: Drawing with Children," which held drawing workshops for children affected by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, mainly at about 120 evacuation shelters. This group was established after the disaster, led by Professor Fumiyo Imabuku (then Research Associate), who is now Faculty of Architecture & Arts at Otemae University, and has since expanded to support street children in Mongolia and children's drawing activities during the Great East Japan Earthquake. The exhibition displayed actual drawings by children at the time, photos of the activities, and records of Pintura's activities. 234 people visited the exhibition during the period, and the exhibition was also featured on the information-challenged group "Live Love Hyogo" produced by NHK Kobe Broadcasting Station.

On Saturday, March 29th, at Otemae University SELL Forum, Professor Imabuku and Soichi Ueda (Director of the Think the Earth Association) held a talk session on the theme of "How has art helped children?", looking back on their activities during the earthquake disaster. Please watch the video on YouTube below.

On the final day of the exhibition, a drawing and craft workshop was held in the style of the time at Faculty of Architecture & Arts Otemae University. A total of 127 people participated in the workshop, including 51 current children and their parents and other related parties, and the venue was filled with the same energy and enthusiasm of the children as it was back then.

Source: School Public Relations