The Third Nippon Shinyaku & Seitaro Kuroda Smiles Art Project was held on Thursday, April 3, 2014 from 10 o’clock in the morning at Kitakyushu Night and Holiday Emergency Medical Center No. 2 in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
The “Com City” complex, where the medical center is located, is Kitakyushu City’s nucleus of regional public services and human resource development agencies. The Yahata Nishi Ward Office, the Employment Service Center “Hello Work,” the Citizens’ Gallery, and many other community facilities are concentrated here. This site was selected for the Project in the hopes that pictures drawn by people of multiple generations could bring smiles to visitors at the complex.
On the day of the event, 35 children, all elementary school pupils or younger living in and around Kitakyushu City who had responded to an open call for participation, gathered together at the venue. First, the children listened to Mr. Kuroda’s talk, with excited expressions on their faces. With Mr. Kuroda’s “Now, start drawing!” the children replied with an energetic “Yes!” Holding crayons, they freely drew pictures on the wall.
At the same time, Mr. Kuroda drew, using a gentle touch, birds fluttering their wings, flowers, and other images suggestive of hopes on the walls of the medical center’s waiting lounge and hallway. At the end, the event was immortalized with a commemorative photo of all the participants, with the finished pictures in the background.