In Osaka, the way of life shaped during the time of high economic growth is manifestly collapsing. The day-workers who have been made to serve as a convenient labor force for capital are losing jobs, while the large-scale housing complexes that were built in the suburbs for the middle class are being bought up by major developers, and the aging residents are coercively evicted. Meanwhile the communities built in parks by those who have been evicted are violently removed by the municipal government.

NDS (Nakazaki-cho Documentary Space) is a group of documentarians, based in Kamagasaki Osaka, the town with the biggest population of day-workers in Japan. NDS has been documenting urban struggles, at the same time participating in struggle as activists. This evening’s film is a document of the struggles of the people against the eviction and the loss of living space. The scenes you will see are of events in Osaka, but are also common in the cities across the world, being in constant and intensifying confrontation with the Empire.

Special thanks to Japan Society.

In 2007 the Municipal Government of Osaka was about to coercively remove the residents of Nagai Park, with the pretext of beautification of the city for the World Championship of Athletics. The residents and supporters began organizing various actions to protect their living space, including a theater performance at the site.

Stephan Apicella-Hitchcock was born in New York City and divides his time between New York and Japan. His projects range across the mediums of photography, film, and sculpture, in addition to curatorial projects. He was resident artist in the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s WorldViews studio residency program at the World Trade Center and the Shatana International Artist’s residency in Jordan. He has taught at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the School of Visual Arts, and Parsons The New School For Design. He currently teaches in the Department of Visual Art at Fordham University in New York City where he directs the photography concentration, as well as teaches in the History of Art and Design department at Pratt Institute’s School of Art and Design. Exhibitions of his work and projects have taken place over the past three years in The Kingdom of Bahrain, France, Germany, Japan, Jordan, New York, Spain, Switzerland, and Syria. www.muzukashiihito.com 1996 MFA Rhode Island School of Design, 1991 BA Hampshire College