Monthly Report: Zohar Dvir (July 2026)
As the weather got hot and sweaty, I found my working rhythm. I spent most days storyboarding in my air-conditioned flat. But July was also quite eventful, which often meant disconnecting from the air conditioner.
At the beginning of the month I facilitated the Peace Between Us workshop, with a lot of help from Shizuka and the rest of the Hiroshima Animation Season team. The workshop invited four local elders and twenty-six children, ranging from kindergarten to high school, to create an intergenerational dialogue about Peace. The seniors shared their thoughts about peace, and the children responded to the stories they heard by creating a collaborative mural.
The schedule was busy and the time was short, but luckily, with the help of the team, and Kanade - an interpreter, I managed to find time for my second agenda of the day: conducting my first interviews in Japan. Surrounded by children painting, I had an interesting discussion with one of the elders, Mariko, about her family, growing up in Hiroshima in the years after the war, and her thoughts on Peace. After the workshop, I also had the opportunity to record all four elders and hear both their reflections on peace and their impressions of the workshop. I'm very grateful to everyone involved who helped this production come to life and end on such a successful note.
There was no time to rest after the workshop. The next day, the H-AIR residents gave a talk about our work at Hijiyama University. It was a pleasure to present my work to a new audience, and afterwards I had the chance to spend some time with the students and share my experience with them. I was exhausted but satisfied after these two busy days.
A few days later, I was already on my way to Nagasaki to meet with the Peace Education Lab (PLAB). I was greeted by Lynn SakashitaLynn, one of the PLAB members, who gave me a tour of the city and introduced me to the founder and two other members. The conversations with them were enriching. Until that point, I hadn't really had the opportunity to speak with people who are actively involved in peacebuilding. It was also interesting to hear another perspective on Peace from a city with a history so closely connected to Hiroshima. We talked a lot about the past, but for the first time during my residency I also found myself having conversations about the present and the future.
My third and final interview in Japan actually began during my visit to Nagasaki. As part of the city tour, Lynn arranged a short interview with two high school students outside the Peace Museum. During our conversation, I learned that both girls happened to live in Hiroshima, so I contacted them later to arrange a longer interview. I was curious to hear what the younger generation thinks about Peace. I expected them to be more cynical - or at least tired of hearing about peace - but the reality was quite different. They were deeply engaged with the subject, concerned about the importance of peace education, and aware of the current political situation in Japan and around the world.
On the little free time I had, I also managed to explore Japan a bit further. After visiting Nagasaki, I spent one night at an onsen in Takeo. As a tattooed person, it's often difficult to find an onsen that allows entry. They kindly let me use their facilities while there were no other visitors, which made the experience both relaxing and slightly stressful, as I kept worrying that other women might enter.
Another highlight was a trip to Naoshima with Bence and Clara. We visited the Chichu Art Museum and Benesse House Museum, cycled around the beautiful island, and took pictures with Kusama's famous pumpkin. We spent the night at a guesthouse in Okayama before driving the next day to a beautiful beach and the historic district of Kurashiki. Back in Hiroshima, another memorable moment was the annual fireworks festival. Pictures simply cannot capture how impressive the fireworks were.
Towards the end of the month, I started wrapping up the work I have been doing here. I finished storyboarding - or at least one version of it - and began working on style frames. I also decided that the outcome of my residency would be a publication bringing together the three interviews I conducted in Japan, intertwined with excerpts from my storyboard and style frames.
With only two weeks left before we install the H-AIR exhibition, it feels like time is running out. I'm looking forward to the final chapter of my residency in Hiroshima.