AYAKO KATO
Sybil Shearer Fellowship at Ragdale: 2024
Photo: William Frederking
During her residency fellowship at Ragdale, Ayako Kato will be working on ETHOS IV: Degrowth/Cycle/Rebirth, an evening-length piece created to shift focus from human-centered, capitalistic ways of being to a more symbiotic, nature-centered way of being. It will be premiered at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago on April 19 and 20, 2024 as part of its Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival commemorating the Dance Center’s 50th Season.
Ayako collaborates with biologist and storyteller Billie Warren, a member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi; Dave Spencer and his Indigenous drum group; media artist/writer/performer Andy Slater; dance artists Asimina Chremos, Rosely Conz, and Carl Gruby; and an installation artist.
ETHOS inquires how to improve the ethical characters of contemporary beings along with historical, cultural, and environmental awareness from the fūryū (flowing) perspective. Amongst the ideal natural environment at Ragdale, Ayako, a kinetic philosopher and poet, will be deepening an aesthetic and physical practice for human dignity and beauty to evolve, following the ETHOS mantra of 8As: Awareness, Acknowledgement, Affirmation, Allowance, Action, Acceptance, Affinity, and Appreciation.