The Story of How I Tried an Art Retreat and Wanted to Recommend It to Everyone

How I Encountered Art Retreats After Studying Coaching

As mentioned in my profile and in the first note I ever wrote, I am studying coaching at the coaching school THE COACH.

Among the things I learned at THE COACH, the concept that left a strong impression on me as the essence of coaching and being a coach is the "vessel of self."

Coaching is, in the end, a collision between people, and because there is a collision, accepting the other person, and sometimes accepting oneself—the "vessel of self"—plays an important role in a session.

When I was thinking about what I could do to polish my "vessel of self" and face myself, the idea of a "retreat" came to mind.

Having spent over a decade in the hotel industry until the beginning of this year, I had noticed an increase in hotels promoting "retreats." Facilities with concepts like relaxing in nature, liberating oneself, and facing oneself are now everywhere.

However, I was in the middle of being overwhelmed by work when I first took notice of "retreats" and decided I really wanted to experience one. Because I was handling tasks that involved a lot of overtime and business trips, there was a high hurdle for me, living in Tokyo, to go out for a "retreat" that involved staying overnight in nature.

That was when I encountered TWILIGHT's art retreat.

TWILIGHT is apparently a "dialogue unit" consisting of four people, and Nami-chan, one of them, is the initiator of the art retreat project. The idea of an "art retreat" didn't exist elsewhere; Nami-chan is, so to speak, the creator of the "art retreat."

I was a participant in the memorable (?!) first session of TWILIGHT's art retreat. The project setting of a retreat that could be experienced in half a day at the National Art Center, Tokyo in Roppongi was what triggered me to try participating.

How would I explain an art retreat objectively?

To explain an art retreat simply in my own words, it is not a retreat held "in nature" like the common ones, but rather a retreat where you "face yourself through art appreciation."face yourself through art appreciation
The art you appreciate often belongs to what is called contemporary art, and it is characterized by the fact that you often have reactions like, "Huh? Is this art?" or "... (I have no idea what this is)." I learned later that this was the big, sharp aim of TWILIGHT's guide, Nami-chan.

The program is designed so that you can diligently face the emotions and questions that arise from confronting the art through dialogue with other participants and subsequent solo time.

The flow of the art retreat day and what follows is something like this

If I were to convey the contrast between an art retreat and coaching from Wakana's perspective...

• The role of the coach is played pseudo-simultaneously by the art, the guide, and the other participants.

• The divided times of appreciation, dialogue, solo time, and after-talk each carry the power of a single session.

• By participating seriously, you end up "deeply connecting with nature" and "facing yourself," which leads to significant "realizations."

• Since it takes half a day, you feel completely exhausted afterward. You might get a headache or feel incredibly sleepy.

The way the TWILIGHT guides support, ask questions, and listen is truly wonderful. It is also a great learning experience for me as a coach.

I would like to recommend art retreats to the following people:

• People who want to face themselves through something that is similar to yet different from coaching

• People who want to experience a retreat but don't have the opportunity or time to go into nature

• People who are interested in a "slightly unusual" retreat

What happened to me after participating in an art retreat

To date, five art retreats have been held. I participated as an attendee in the first and third, and for the fifth, I was invited by TWILIGHT to be involved from the planning stage.

During the fifth event, I retweeted my own tweets on Twitter, leaving behind my thoughts and impressions at the time. You can get an idea of what it's like by looking back at those tweets.

For me, the first experience was absolutely incredible. In fact, it was there that I made the decision to resign from the company I was working for at the time. See, it's amazing, isn't it? During that first art retreat, I confronted the work of Lee Ufan, and after spending time in dialogue and solitude, I took home the words, "If I become free."

The first experience was so intense that I felt like taking a break for the second and fourth ones. That is how powerful each art retreat is.

For the third one, I viewed a video work called "Soft Stage" held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, and I took home the words, "Do not seek sameness, acknowledge differences, and enjoy every moment." It was just around the time I was about to resign and my head felt like it was going to explode from the handover tasks. I was truly saved by the words I took home.

Invitation to TWILIGHT's 6th Art Retreat

Well, with that said,the 6th art retreat scheduled for 7/16 (Sun) is an invitation. -> It has been rescheduled to 8/24 (Thu)!

This time, we will view the special exhibition currently being held at WHAT MUSEUM, near Tennozu Isle Station. It is a collection by Ryutaro Takahashi, a psychiatrist and contemporary art collector.

～Feeling the vibrancy of life～ We will confront art with this theme, and discuss with the guides and participants what we receive, or perhaps what might be absorbed, and whatever else happens there.

Some of the works can be photographed, so I'll share a little bit with you.

You can find the event page and registration here. I highly recommend reading the message from Nami-chan, the guide for TWILIGHT.

If you are interested, please do join us. Let's enjoy the art retreat together!

――

The photo at the beginning of this post was taken on a beach near a lighthouse called West Point on Prince Edward Island, Canada. I'm not a photographer or anything, but when I saw the back of an older woman standing alone on the beach, I thought, 'How photogenic!' and took the picture. That is my art.