2015
Mural Project in the Netherlands
2015
Launched in 2015, Over the Wall has been working with people trying to overcome various social problems in places such as poverty-stricken areas in Africa, a conflict zone in Ukraine, and a women’s prison in Ecuador, to create murals that give them encouragement. This time, Over the Wall has planned a project to create a mural using the theme “coexistence” in the Netherlands, a nation formed from diverse ethnic groups,
and one of the most historic trading countries in Europe with deep ties to Japan, as it is celebrating 425 years of Japanese-Dutch relations in 2025.
In 2016, Kensuke Miyazaki’s home prefecture Saga signed a creative cooperation and exchange agreement with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Japan. This year marks ten years of Creative Residency Arita, in which creators from the Netherlands and other countries around the world stay in Arita and create art pieces. Among the many ties, the city of Delft in South Holland province has a unique style of pottery, influenced by Imari ware from Saga Prefecture, which was imported from Japan following porcelain being introduced into the country from China via the Dutch East India Company in the seventeenth century. World-renowned for its blue and white porcelain known as Delft Blue, even today artisans continue on the traditional techniques, demonstrating the city’s strong connection to Saga Prefecture. Our plan this time is to create a mural in Delft,
with the cooperation of Saga Prefecture.
The Netherlands has long cultivated an atmosphere of tolerance towards others due to its historical background. The long history of land reclamation is thought to have led to a spirit that values environmental control and coexistence with others. Policies connected with prostitution, drugs, and homosexuality are based on tolerance, with the thinking that social ills are not something to be eliminated, but “controlled” and to be in “coexistence” with as much as possible. In 2017, under the support of UNHCR, Over the Wall worked with local people to create a mural in Maruipol, Ukraine that depicted a glove,
a representation of peace and coexistence. Sadly, the mural was destroyed by missiles during the Russian military invasion in 2022. We still have not been able to get in contact with the people who worked together with us on that mural.
When we think about the situation of the world in the future, it seems that the Netherlands’ tolerance and diversity can play an important role. We have requested support from the socio-cultural organization Canidream, active in Delft, and in collaboration with NOBIS, their mural project, we intend to stay in a housing complex in the Buitenhof quarter of the city and create a mural while interacting with the local residents.
Canidream is a socio-cultural organization working to improve the self-confidence, selfexpression, and independence of vulnerable teenagers through the help of sports, culture, and technology. Canidream has been helping young people prepare for the future through various human resource development programmes and participatory art projects. To date, they have been involved in NOBIS, an initiative to create murals in cooperation with local residents with the aim of promoting solidarity, and three such projects have been implemented so far.
“La Perla” created by mural artist Tymon de LaatDelft, the location of this time’s mural, is a city where people with very diverse roots coexist. These roots can be traced back to the sixteenth century, when the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Dutch West India Company (WIC) began exchanges with Asia and Africa. An influx of immigrants and cultures from places like Indonesia,
Suriname, and South Africa led to multicultural coexistence. The relationship between Japan and the Netherlands, celebrating their 425th anniversary this year, began in 1600 when the Dutch merchant ship de Liefde arrived in Japan. Arita ware from Saga Prefecture, was actively trading through VOC during the seventeenth century and its use of blue and white dyeing techniques became very popular in Europe. This is believed to have influenced Delft ware.
For this time’s mural, to show the connection between Saga Prefecture and Delft, we will paint de Liefde in the center of a large ceramic jar and underneath a section from the famous Arita ware “large dish with design of Arita Sarayama porcelain workshop”. I have added a traditional Delft ware design to the top, as a way to show the fusion of the two types of porcelain. In his paintings, the Delft-born artist Vermeer included a number of porcelain works, some of which are thought to have come from Arita to Delft in the seventeenth century. The porcelain jar that appears in his painting “Woman with a Pearl Necklace” (1662-1664) is said to be Arita ware from that period, and it is that jar I would like to use as a symbol in this mural.
The flowers in the jar symbolize the diverse roots of Delft’s citizens. I would like to askthe local residents about their roots and then express the diverse cultures that have beennurtured and bloomed throughout the history of Delft.Appearing on the right is the sun, a feature in all the Over the Wall murals, painted asa symbol to show that people all over the world live under the same sun.
Saga Prefecture, located in north-west Kyushu, has a population ofapproximately 810,000, making it one of the smallest prefectures in Japan.With very few international companies or diplomatic missions based there, ittends to have little contact with the rest of the world. Over the Wall hastherefore decided to carry out two initiatives in collaboration with SagaPrefecture, in the hope that those activities will provide an opportunity forchildren in the prefecture to develop a connection with people living overseas.A courtesy visit will be made to the Governor of Saga Prefecture in June togive an explanation of the initiatives’ aims and, following completion of theproject, an initiative debriefing session is planned to be held in SagaPrefecture in October.
Over the Wall’s activities are becoming widely known and are currentlyfeatured in English textbooks and junior high and high schools across Japan.In cooperation with Saga Prefecture’s internationalization initiative, we arerecruiting high school students within the prefecture, intending to send threestudents to work with local people in the Netherlands to create a mural.Applications from Saga prefecture high school students who are interested inthe project and have a spirit of adventure will begin being accepted in June,and selection made based on submitted documents and interviews. Thechosen students will spend four days on-site in the Netherlands, workingalongside local residents to create a lasting mural.
Kodokan 2, planned by Saga Prefecture Lifelong Learning Division, is aninitiative to revive Saga Domain’s Kodokan school, which produced a number ofgreat people during the late Edo period and the Meiji Restoration, and involveslectures given by people from Saga, active nationwide, on topics not taught atschools and that are useful for life. Kensuke Miyazaki will give a lecture to aroundthirty Saga Prefecture elementary school students at Kodokan 2 and togetherthey will create an official artwork to be delivered to the Netherlands, which hasclose ties with Saga. The high school students selected to go to the Netherlandswill also participate in this activity, and the hope is that the children of SagaPrefecture can feel connected with the world.
We plan to hold a completion ceremony to celebrate finishing the mural. This projectaims to be recognized as part of the celebrations for the 425th anniversary of diplomaticrelations between Japan and the Netherlands, and we hope that the JapaneseAmbassador to the Netherlands, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ofthe Netherlands, and the Mayor of Delft can participate in this ceremony. In addition, weplan to invite everyone who participated in creating the murals, the local residents, andthose who worked hard to make this project a reality to join the grand celebrations.
The Buitenhof quarter, where the mural will be created, is located in the west of Delftcity and has around 13,000 residents. Buitenhof, along with Voorhof, is an immigrantdistrict and has the highest percentage of residents in Delft with one parent born abroad.As of 2021, 54% of inhabitants were Dutch and 46% immigrants, and this proportion iscontinuing to increase year on year. During the project, we will stay in the apartmentblock where the mural is being created, interacting with the residents from variousbackgrounds and inviting them to participate in making the mural, while also exchangingviews on solidarity and coexistence with the local community.In addition, as a joint project with Saga Prefecture, we are planning to bring two orthree high school students from the prefecture to the Netherlands for a few days to helpin the creation of the mural. Our hope is that through communicating with the localresidents, they can sense the significance of creating a lasting mural in the district.
In a world that is becoming increasingly divided, we hope that by collaborating withlocal people in the Buitenhof quarter of Delft, where many immigrants are accepted, wecan show how people of many diverse backgrounds can work together in solidarity. Wealso hope that having high school students from Saga Prefecture taking part in theproject and collaborating with the local people on the mural will give younger generationsthe opportunity to learn about diverse values and the importance of coexistence. Theexpectation is that preserving the connections between Japan and the Netherlands andbetween Saga Prefecture and the city of Delft through this mural, these can play a rolein encouraging further exchanges in the future.
© Over the Wall