The gift exercise / Invitation 2.1: Nakanojo

In the frame of Nakanojo Biennale, a month-long regional art exhibition, Willimann/Arai lived for 25 days in one of the abandoned shops in the center of Nakanojo, a town that is strongly concerned with rural depopulation. Through a call in a local newspaper and flyers that they distributed to the neighborhood, Willimann/Arai asked the locals to lend them everything they needed for living in this temporary home, such as tables, chairs, a refrigerator, futons, blankets, jugs of water, plates, kitchen utensils and also food, clothes and soap. In exchange, Willimann/Arai provided the locals a variety of services: they worked in gardens, gave English lessons, foot massages, prepared dinners and tea, etc. Within a short time, their "home" became a popular meeting point, a temporary Utopia of non-monetary exchange. After the opening of the Biennale, some locals proposed to replace Willimann/ Arai for the remaining 28 days of the exhibition. Wearing their uniforms and taking over their documentation tasks, the locals kept hosting the space for the visitors of the exhibition.