Fukushima Airport "Utopia"

Ceramic Relief

Governor of Fukushima Prefecture
Yuhei Sato
Thanks to the cooperation of Japan Traffic Culture Association, a ceramics relief "Utopia" by Ms. Fumiko Hori, a representative painter in Japan, has been installed at the lobby on 1st floor of the passenger terminal, Fukushima Airport. I express deep respect and gratitude to everyone involved, including Ms. Hori, who was devoted to creating the relief as a symbol suitable for the entrance of the sky in Fukushima.
Well, three years will come soon after the earthquake disaster, but many residents of the prefecture still live evacuation life inside and outside the prefecture. In the arts and culture, there is the ability to moisturize our hearts and create vitality. This wall painting shows a fun gathering of life nurtured in nature and is also a cheer from Ms. Hori to the prefectural residents working on revitalization, I have heard.
The prefecture has formulated the new comprehensive plan "Plan for Revitalization", and the national government, the municipalities and the prefecture's whole divisions are united and we are doing our utmost to reconstruction and revitalization in order to realize "Newborn Fukushima with full of dream, hope and smiles", in which prefectural people can feel reality in the reconstruction and children will feel, "we are happy that we born in Fukushima, raised and lived" in the future. I hope that everyone who visits Fukushima Airport, as well as Fukushima prefectural people, will receive courage and warmth from this wall painting, and that will make this airport more attractive and loved by everyone. In addition, I believe that this mural becomes a symbol of reconstruction and everyone will be familiar with it forever, and we would like to lead that to further promotion of Fukushima Airport.

Director General, Japan Traffic Culture Association
Hisao Taki
Since its establishment in 1948, Japan Traffic Culture Association has been actively engaged in promoting art and culture. Its pillars are the exhibition project "Traffic Culture Exhibition", the scholarship projects "TAKIFUJI Foundation and International TAKIFUJI Art Award", and public art promotion project.
The "environment in which everyone unconsciously touches arts" born by arts installed in the public spaces realizes a society with relaxation and moisture. We continue these projects with hoping to help that.
The ceramic relief completed at Fukushima Airport this time is the 500th work counted from the first work installed at Tokyo Station as one of the railway 100 year anniversary projects, and it is a memorable work for our public art project.
Taking this opportunity, our association would like to promote initiatively the art academy concept centered on the graduate university that we hold, and activities for the institutionalization of "1% for Arts", in order to further contribute to the promotion of art and culture in our country.
We deeply appreciate many of you who cooperated in making this work and 500 works, and we ask for your continued understanding and cooperation on the spread of public art in the future.