January 1st, 2010_Kamiel Verschuren

The Sapporo 2 project investigates possibilities to create a new annual cultural snow festival for the city of Sapporo.

The final aim of the project is to create a new holiday on the second day of snowfall, Sapporo 2-day, a day on which all inhabitants are free from work, school or household, free to collectively experience their city as one very large urban snow sculpture.

Previous to Sapporo 2-day, everyone goes to school, to work as if it were an ordinary weekday, taking the bus, car or subway. But instead of going to class or to the office, all inhabitants of Sapporo will collectively clean the city of snow and by doing so create all kinds of sculptures and objects, supported by artists of the city and abroad.

Each year again and again, as the first snow falls, Sapporo 2-day is celebrated. This urban festival comes to life as a true cultural celebration for all communities. Each year one can learn from what one has done the previous year, from others, from what one has seen and remembers.

It allows individual statements, to address personal issues, as it allows collective projects. It offers the people of Sapporo a way to express and question themselves.

The festival as a whole also expresses the level of vitality of its inhabitants.

The whole city becomes one very big snow festival.

Tweet