LONG-TERM INSTALLATIONS
Giacomo Zaganelli, Tsuyama Ping Pong Platz, 2024 / Photo by Kenryou Gu
Tsuyama Ping Pong Platz
Giacomo Zaganelli
2024
In Tsuyama Ping Pong Platz (2024), Zaganelli created a public outdoor table tennis plaza on the former site of the Tsuyama International Hotel, located in the heart of Tsuyama’s cultural zone and previously used as a parking lot. According to the artist, public outdoor ping-pong tables in Germany serve not only as places for playing table tennis but also as casual social spaces where people gather to eat, drink, and spend time together.
Three ping-pong tables, made of iron and concrete-designed by the artist and built in collaboration with local craftsmen—along with benches crafted from locally sourced wood, harmonize with the stone walls and trees of Kakuzan Park. Together, they form a welcoming platform for communication, inviting both local residents and visitors to interact through the presence of the work.
Originally created for Forest Festival of the Arts Okayama 2024, this work now remains on long-term installation.
Artist
Photo: Silvia Piantini
- Giacomo Zaganelli
Born in 1983 Italy. Giacomo Zaganelli now lives and works in Florence and Berlin. He is an artist, curator, and activator of artistic-cultural projects aimed at the community. Through participatory exhibitions and workshops, he has worked with local residents and government agencies to revitalize vacant lots and other neglected areas.
Zaganelli and his partner Silvia Piantini spent about a month in the northern part of Okayama in 2022 and 2023, visiting Tsuyama city government offices, local communities, and schools to advance their project through dialogue with the residents.
Venue
- Tsuyama City
- Shiroshita Square
This was once the site of a daimyo’s residence adjacent to Tsuyama Castle, and was the site of Tsuyama International Hotel in the modern era. Now an expansive lawn is planted, for use as space for relaxation and recreation.
- Location
- 98-2 Sange, Tsuyama City
- Opening Hours
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- Parking
- Tsuyama Tourist Information Center parking lot
- Regular Closing Days
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- Forest Festival of the Arts Okayama:
Clear-skies Country 2027 - Held in the Autumn of 2027