From April 7th to July 8th, 2001
Mr. Jaap Bremer from Kröller Müller Museum visited Japan in July 2000 and informed us that they were keen to participate in the project.
Then the official application for the project was delivered and the Kaki Tree Project was invited to the exhibition “Ikiro/Be alive, Contemporary Art from Japan 1980 until Now” at Kröller Müller Museum. Artists such as Lee U-Fan, Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Mariko Mori and Tabaimo also participated in the exhibition. The exhibition of the Kaki Tree Project was coordinated by Ms. Angeline Bremer-Cox of the museum.
A workshop for about 40 children in the fifth and sixth grades of local Erika? Elementary School was conducted by Ms. Angeline prior to the exhibition opening. Children drew leaves freely with their imagination and cut these leaves out with scissors, and displayed them at the exhibition site, which was designed in the image of a gravel road. After Ms. Angeline gave a lecture on peace, war, Japan and the Netherlands, they created art works with collage of characters of “Ikiro(Be alive)” on drawing paper and made replica of Van Gogh’s paintings that owned by the museum, and those were displayed at the exhibition site. The second generation seedling of the bombed persimmon tree took the center of the exhibition space and art works created during the workshop and works of the local artist, Mr. Alvert van der Weide, were also displayed.
Although the seedling was to be planted in March 2002, it became weak due to change in environment, so the tree planting ceremony was postponed. After taking a good care of it for one year, the official tree planting ceremony was held in 2003. Unfortunately, Mr. Masayuki Ebinuma, who was going to participate in the ceremony from Japan, could not attend due to the outbreak of the Iraq war. Some Japanese residents who lived in the neighborhood were invited to the ceremony and the tree was planted safely in the premises of the Kröller Müller Museum.
