Makiko Nishikaze is a Japanese composer, pianist and performer based in Berlin. In her work she is concerned with music in its relationship to space. Here, the performance space itself is used as an instrument to unite visual and acoustic impressions in a single whole. Apart from traditional musical instruments, she often integrates sounds using everyday objects and materials. Recently she has also been creating video work as ‘visual composition,’ often without sound, which is a new development of her creative activity. As a teacher, she has been engaged in various social art projects and has given seminars and workshops about experimental music for music students, school teachers, amateur musicians and children.
During her KulttuuriKauppila Artist-in-Community residency period, Nishikaze is working on her project, Listening in Ii in collaboration with the residents of the Startti group home belonging to the Oulunkaari joint authority. In the project, Nishikaze for example is studying the tonal similarities between the Finnish and Japanese languages. In addition, Nishikaze arranges walks around Ii, during which she and the participants explore and attempt to capture the surrounding soundscape in a visual form.
Nishikaze will be presenting her work at KulttuuriKauppila during the opening of the social art residency on Wednesday, 17 April at 16-18. Free entrance, welcome!