Life is full of drama.
Just when you thought your life was ordinary, it was turned upside down one day.
We may not be able to go back, but we should be able to change the future.
It's all drama, so let's act it out.
I am sure I can move many people's hearts.
Let's stand on the stage believing in such power.
Let's shout, let's express, let's be enchanted.
About Project
Project Background
Suddenly, just when you thought your life was going well, you are diagnosed with cancer.
am I no longer be able to travel, enjoy delicious food, or have fun? I may have to give up my job, my dreams, and so on. I spent days feeling anxious, lost, isolated, and hopeless.
However, life goes on. There are no breaks in her child-rearing routine, even during her treatment, and a sense of humor comes with the company of her two-year-old son. When I returned to work and began to work on my art activities, spring came again and the cherry blossoms bloomed.
Routine is somehow comforting. It is a relief to have the ordinary come.
As I experience these small daily joys over and over again, I find myself recovering from the past by paying close attention to my body's voice.
cancer can be treated and lived for a long time
There is another lesson that has saved my life since I was diagnosed with cancer. It was from the book "Nine Habits" that led to a dramatic remission of cancer.
It is a story of hope that by making small changes in one's way of thinking, such as trusting one's intuition and finding the meaning of life, one's daily life was transformed and the cancer disappeared naturally. Contrary to the ear-splitting stories of death, the story of a cancer survivor who went into dramatic remission was as hopeful as a ray of light.
As a cancer survivor, the least I can do is to communicate and interact with others who have gone through the same experience, capturing the power and creativity that resides within them. They shine through their cancer experience and live life authentically.It would be my honor if I could assist discovering new self by bringing out their power and stories.
Project Details
Life in Dramatic (L/D Project) is considering the following research topics
Research on the effectiveness of self-expression (art) and performativity in healing cancer patients.To this end, we invite survivor to be part of photo session being a model to act in the scene based on their ideal situation
Developing cancer survivorship program based on art, creativity, intuition, and self-love. To this end, we hold art therapy workshops by collaborating with cancer center or peer supporting groups.
Developing a system that provides dialogue support and mental support using AI technology :Conversations with cancer patients, especially during treatment, can be nerve-wracking. It is difficult to find the words you want to say to each other and the words you want to be said to each other.
sponsor
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI
Grant Numbers 21K12893
From the Practice of "A Place for Expression”
After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster, I gave up my art activities overseas and continued my research on whether art can contribute to society. In order to archive the memories of Namie(my father's hometown in Fukushima Prefecture where whole town was evacuated once) I established the
"Preserving the Memory of Namie" and have been accumulating their memories and stories in various ways.
In the process, I have found that those who have difficulty in telling their stories are actually able to actively tell their stories (expression) by encouraging a certain degree of performativity, and furthermore, that this is healing. (Sasaki, 2018).
This does not mean forcing people to talk, but art as medicine and narrative medicine, in which people actively express themselves, are being practiced in overseas medical settings.
For example, as a mindfulness measure during chemotherapy, studies have reported that creating a space with colorful paintings filling the walls leads to mental stability, which in turn leads to reduced side effects and improved immunity.
The L/D Project helps cancer patients and others with various chronic diseases to move forward in a more equitable manner, working with the creativity that lies dormant in the self. It is never about performing and getting a different personality. Touching another self can promote empowerment, or even inspire others to appreciate the creations you have expressed. This kind of inspiration will surely give you the strength to move forward.
Project Representative
Kanako Sasaki
Lives and works in Sendai, Japan. Graduated from Ithaca Collage (BA Journalism) in 2001, School of Visual Arts (MFA) in 2004, and Royal Collage of Art (UK) in 2006. In 2006, she studied at the Royal Collage of Art in the U.K. For the next 10 years, she was based in New York City, where she worked with photography and video. 2020 was the year she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which inspired her to work with cancer survivors, As part of her research to build a platform for improving the wellbeing of survivors, she is focusing on the stories expressed by survivors and the restorative potential of their expressed and performed sotries. Currently, she is engaged in building survivorship care for empowerment at the Center for Advanced Science Research, University of Tokyo.
