Sister cities united through youth and art

Published on 28 August 2020

Thirty years of cultural student exchanges between Hobart and Yaizu in Japan have been celebrated with an art project that reflects on a shared vision of the future.

New Lines of Sight is currently exhibiting on the City of Hobart’s Soapbox billboards, which provide space for artists and writers to express their voice.

Created by community artist Sara Wright and involving exchange students from Yaizu and their host students from Mt Carmel College, New Lines of Sight is described by the artist as: “a creative process, navigating bias and sharing cultural perspectives, seeing themselves and each other with new eyes. The result is a collective dreaming for the future: a global society of friendship, reciprocity and peace.”

The artworks feature a blue line of stars connecting the faces of the students and includes a hand-painted shodo symbol created by a Yaizu exchange student, translating as “with gratitude, our dreams become real”.

Hobart’s Sister Cities relationship with Yaizu was formalised in 1977 as a result of tuna fishing fleets from Yaizu harbouring in Hobart during the 1960s and 1970s. The regular and long visits from the fishermen generated both business and personal connections between Hobart and Yaizu.

In recent years, the relationship has flourished thanks to the regular student exchange programs.

New Lines of Sight is the 27th series of artworks displayed on the Soapbox billboards, which were established in 2012.

More information on New Lines of Sight is available at hobartcity.com.au/yaizu. For information on the Soapbox program, visit hobartcity.com.au/soapbox.