Join us on Monday, August 18 at 7:00 PM for a talk by writer and curator Julia Fidder, who works between Finland and the Netherlands, along with a screening of a short film related to the theme of the evening. Fidder is currently based in Tokyo from May to late August with the support of the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
We warmly invite you to take part in this special opportunity.
At this talk event, Fidder will explore the theme of “Grief”—a central concern in her curatorial and research practice. Co-organized by AIT and the Finnish Cultural Foundation, her residency in Tokyo has included field research in places such as Mount Koya, Fukushima, and Hiroshima, focusing on mourning rituals and acts of remembrance.
About the Speaker and Her Practice
Julia Fidder’s work centers around themes such as grief, ritual, (institutional) healing, and collective structures for living and working together. In recent years, she has explored grief as a curatorial method by focusing on the interpersonal relationships between curator, artist, and audience. Her practice emphasizes ways of engaging such as reciprocity, attentive listening, shared agency, multivocality, care-full curating, and the creation of safer spaces, rather than simply conducting interviews and workshops.
Her ongoing project, “Here Lies at Rest,” explores how grief and mourning can be shared in society and the role of cemeteries and monuments in this process. When the material and cultural presences of death are made visible in public spaces, grief is no longer confined to individuals—it becomes a collective act of recognition. The project also questions how much “time to grieve” we are allowed in a society shaped by capitalist notions of time and productivity.
Note: The English term “grief” refers to the wide range of emotional responses that arise from loss, such as the death of a loved one. In Japanese, it is often translated as「悲嘆」.
Event Program
The evening will begin with a presentation by Fidder, introducing her project and inviting reflection on how grief is perceived in contemporary capitalist society, where time and efficiency are often prioritized.
Following the talk, we will screen “After Time” (approx. 10 min), a short film by Ukrainian-born, Czech Republic–based artist Polina Davydenko, a collaborator of Fidder’s.
The film contemplates themes of time, uncertainty, and grief through the lens of the ancient Ukrainian stone statues known as Babas, capturing the temporal disorientation of life during war.
Together, through the talk and film, we will take a quiet moment to reflect and share how we process, remember, and hold space for grief—whether in response to personal loss, global tragedies, or the sorrows we carry within.
This event welcomes anyone who is looking to engage with grief, memory, and care through the lens of art.
[Outline]
Date and Time: Monday, August 18, 2025 19:00–21:00 (Doors open at 18:30)
Venue: AIT (B403, Twin Building Daikanyama 30-8, Sarugakucho, Shibuyaku, Tokyo)
Participation Fee: ¥500 (free for AIT House members) Includes one free drink / outside food welcome
More information about the research and residency:
*Please register for each participant if attending as a group. (Maximum of two people per registration.)
*We do not accept changes, cancellations, or refunds after registration. Thank you for your understanding.
*If you require assistance to attend the event, please contact us in advance.
*The AIT Room is a smoke-free venue.
Artist
Julia Fidder
Julia Fidder is a writer and curator based between The Netherlands and Finland. Within her practice she focuses on themes regarding grief, rituals, (institutional) healing and collective structures of living and working together. Fidder explores collaborative strategies and working methods that stem directly from this thematic research and has over the past years been investigating grieving as a curatorial method. Resulting from this, she underlines the importance for reciprocity and shared agency in her collaborations. Her thinking and work regarding grief has been largely inspired by thinkers, writers and grief tenders like Camille Sapara Barton, Judith Butler, Darcy Harris, Cindy Milstein as well as stories of the grievers, artists and practitioners that were connected to her projects so far.
Together with Michaela Davidova she founded Text my Sister, an interdependent curatorial organization that aims at facilitating meaningful connections internationally. Fidder graduated from the Master programme in Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art at Aalto University and has worked for several art institutions including Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma (Helsinki, Finland), SEA Foundation (The Netherlands), Helsinki Biennial 2023 and MU Hybrid Art House (Eindhoven, The Netherlands). Previously she published texts with Flash Art CZ, Metropolis M, De Kunstmeisjes and Tubelight amongst others.
Website: https://juliafidder.com/
Polina Davydenko
Polina Davydenko is a visual artist working in the field of photography overlapping with the media of video, audio and text. The key theme of her work is narrative and its various forms. She focuses on human-animal relationships and cultural stereotypes related to the issue. These become the starting point for playing out other contexts, which the author visually sensitively connects into one disturbing message.
About Arts Initiative Tokyo [AIT]
AIT is a non-profit organization founded in 2001 by six art curators and managers with the aim of creating a platform for learning, dialogue, and thinking open to anyone interested in contemporary art.