Life Becomes Art:
Performance, Space, and Everyday Creation
Life Becomes Art:
Performance, Space, and Everyday Creation
Profile
usaginingen is an artist unit formed in Berlin in 2011. Their performances, created using self-made visual devices and musical instruments, are internationally acclaimed for their innovative fusion of analog and digital expression. In 2014, they received the Grand Prize at the Reykjavik Visual-Music Festival in Iceland. In 2021, they completed a 38-city national tour in Japan with support from the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ “ARTS for the future!” program and were featured in an Apple Japan commercial the same year. To date, they have performed in 28 countries. The unit consists of Shinichi Hirai, who handles sound, equipment design, and community projects; Emi Hirai, who leads visual production including video and drawing; and their elementary-school-age son, Kaina Hirai, who joined the stage in 2024—together forming a family-based creative team.
What we do
Living on the island of Teshima in the Seto Inland Sea, experiencing nature and the seasons, and engaging in a variety of activities centred on live performances and theater management.
ShinAiKan Project
Once an orphanage that protected children in the aftermath of the war, this building has now been reborn as a cultural hub. Connecting island life with artistic expressions from around the globe, ShinAiKan × usaginingen embraces the challenge of creating new cultural possibilities through art and festivals.
Stay Village
After being inspired by the island’s nature and art, you’ll find an environment where you can turn your creative desires into reality, giving shape to your imagination. Stay on an island alive with daily life, and enjoying infinite possibilities through your creativity.
village
After being inspired by the island’s nature and art, you’ll find an environment where you can turn your creative desires into reality, giving shape to your imagination. Stay on an island alive with daily life, and enjoying infinite possibilities through your creativity.
ShinAiKan Project
Once an orphanage that protected children in the aftermath of the war, this building has now been reborn as a cultural hub. Connecting island life with artistic expressions from around the globe, ShinAiKan × usaginingen embraces the challenge of creating new cultural possibilities through art and festivals.
Member
Emi Hirai
Visual ArtistEmi Hirai
Born in 1980 in Yokohama, Japan, Emi graduated from Joshi Art University and went on to forge a successful career in Tokyo as both an art director and a graphic designer. In 2010, she expanded her creative horizons by moving to Berlin, Germany, where she transitioned into a visual artist and began performing in 2011. Emi has since returned to Japan and currently resides and works on Teshima Island, continuing her artistic journey. In 2021, she held her first drawing exhibition, marking a significant milestone in her evolving career as an artist.
Shinichi Hirai
MusicianShinichi Hirai
Minagu Hirai
PunksMinagu Hirai
Born in 2018 on Teshima Island, Kagawa Prefecture, is a preschooler at Hitomi Nursery School. In 2024, Minagu participated in Usaginingen’s performances as a narrator and actor. Minagu finds each day brimming with joy, a soul dancing in the endless delight of life’s pleasures.
Aiming to capture the moment when seemingly contradictory elements intersect, expressing the new meanings and sensations that arise from this confluence through the union of visual art and music. By coalescing contrasting concepts such as tangible forms and intangible emotions, substance and thought, abstraction and concreteness within a single piece, I seek to highlight the unique beauty inherent in each. This endeavor not only offers viewers an opportunity to engage in a dialogue with their inner selves but also aims to create a space where individuals can reconsider their perspectives on self and the world through the lens of the artwork. It is a process of reconnecting what has been divided and delving into the beauty and value of harmony among diverse elements.
Aiming to capture the moment when seemingly contradictory elements intersect, expressing the new meanings and sensations that arise from this confluence through the union of visual art and music. By coalescing contrasting concepts such as tangible forms and intangible emotions, substance and thought, abstraction and concreteness within a single piece, I seek to highlight the unique beauty inherent in each. This endeavor not only offers viewers an opportunity to engage in a dialogue with their inner selves but also aims to create a space where individuals can reconsider their perspectives on self and the world through the lens of the artwork. It is a process of reconnecting what has been divided and delving into the beauty and value of harmony among diverse elements.
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