Do you know about “special needs education”?
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology defines special needs education as “education that supports the proactive efforts of children with disabilities toward independence and social participation, based on the perspective of meeting each individual’s educational needs.”
Special needs education is also provided in Kurashiki City. In addition to Kurashiki City Kurashiki Support School, special needs classes have been established at 55 municipal elementary schools and 25 municipal junior high schools.
The “Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition,” featuring works by children receiving special needs education at Kurashiki City municipal schools, will be held again in 2025. We spoke with those involved about their thoughts on the exhibition.
The information presented was current when this article was published in January 2025. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What Is the “36th Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition”?
The Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition is held every year to broaden understanding of and support for special needs education. In 2025, it will be held for the 36th time.
In 2025, it will be held for six days, from Tuesday, January 21, to Sunday, January 26, at the Kurashiki City Art Museum.
Participants include all special needs classes at elementary and junior high schools in Kurashiki City, as well as Kurashiki City Kurashiki Support School.
Special needs classes
Classes established at elementary, junior high, and other schools for students with the disabilities listed below, to help them overcome difficulties in learning or daily life caused by their disabilities
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Special needs schools
Schools whose purpose is to provide children with disabilities with education equivalent to that offered at kindergartens, elementary schools, junior high schools, or high schools, and to impart the knowledge and skills needed to overcome difficulties in learning or daily life caused by their disabilities and achieve independence
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
At the 35th Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition, held in 2024, works created by the children with great care through their daily activities were displayed. These included art and craft works such as paintings, Japanese-language works such as calligraphy and essays, and home economics works such as clothing and handicrafts.
Special Exhibition of the Hospital Classroom Friendship Art Exhibition
The Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition includes not only special needs schools in Kurashiki City and special needs classes at elementary and junior high schools, but also hospital classrooms.
Hospital classrooms
Hospital classrooms are special needs classes for children with health or physical impairments, established in hospitals for students who must be hospitalized due to injury or illness.
* Kurashiki City municipal elementary and junior high schools currently have hospital classrooms at Kurashiki Central Hospital and Kawasaki Medical School Hospital.
After the Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition ends, works from the hospital classrooms will be featured in a special exhibition at Nishina Shoten iroiro in Kurashiki Ebisu Shopping Street, from Monday, January 27, to Sunday, February 2.
For details, please see the image below.
Interview with the Organizers of the “36th Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition”
We spoke with Vice Principal Nakamura Mika of Kurashiki-Higashi Elementary School about the aims of the Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition and her thoughts on it.
Could you tell us how the Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition came to be held?
Nakamura (surname only)
Until the 1988 school year, schools in the Kurashiki area (Kurashiki and Mizushima) held their exhibitions at Kurashiki Culture Center, while schools in Kojima held theirs at Kojima Culture Center. However, apparently there was growing enthusiasm for holding a joint exhibition in a larger venue. So, starting in 1989, it became a citywide event and was named the “Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition.”
There were years when it was canceled to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but this is its 36th year.
Exhibitions in which all students enrolled in special needs schools and special needs classes participate, as they do in Kurashiki City, seem to be rare. We, too, work with the children to create pieces each year, learning through trial and error.
What are the aims of the Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition?
Nakamura
Above all, we want to share with the citizens the activities of children who attend special needs schools and classes.
The works should convey the steps the children have taken through their daily activities, as well as the effort behind them.
The needs of children receiving special needs education vary from year to year, so every summer teachers actually try making the works themselves and discuss what support the children will need. I think many schools then begin working on the pieces with the children around autumn.
At the Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition, every school works on one large piece that brings together different grades and disability types, so cooperation among teachers is essential. Every teacher works hard to create pieces that bring out the children’s strengths.
Since special needs schools and classes often have only one class per grade, bringing all the works together must also help teachers learn from one another.
Nakamura
That’s right.
There are few opportunities to see what other schools are doing, so I, too, have been inspired by the works from other schools every year.
But teachers aren’t the only ones who are inspired. The children also seem to look forward to viewing works by children from other schools.
Some children receiving special needs education use welfare services in addition to attending school. Since children from different school districts gather for these services, they seem to have many friends who attend other schools.
Among the children in my class, many would see a work by a child from another school and exclaim, “That’s [child’s name]’s work!” with their eyes lighting up.
I feel like I see children at the Kurashiki City Art Museum every year during the exhibition.
Nakamura
Since the children’s works are on display, many schools visit the Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition as an off-campus learning activity. The Kurashiki Bikan Historical Area is also near the Kurashiki City Art Museum, so the visit can include a town exploration and shopping practice.
Since the exhibition opens on a Tuesday, we often hear stories of families retracing on a day off the route their children walked on a weekday school trip. We hope this exhibition can also serve as an opportunity to broaden the options for outings for families with children with disabilities.
What kinds of people would you like to see come to the Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition?
Nakamura
Of course, we’d love the children’s families to come, but we also hope citizens and visitors to the area will stop by.
The exhibition will feature many wonderful works that shine with the children’s individuality. We hope many people will come and see the traces of the children’s perseverance and hard work in creating these pieces.
Finally, do you have a message for our readers?
Nakamura
Although it is a cold time of year, please come to the Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition and see the warmly expressive works created by children receiving special needs education at elementary and junior high schools in Kurashiki City.
We look forward to welcoming you.
From the Writer
Until November 2023, I was a teacher at a special needs school in the Kanto region.
In Kanto, I often saw exhibitions displaying works by students representing each school. But, as Vice Principal Nakamura mentioned, opportunities to bring together works created through the combined efforts of children from each school, as at the Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition, seem rare.
During the exhibition, the Kurashiki City Art Museum and Bikan Historical Area will surely be bustling with children on school trips. Since the exhibition is held during one of the coldest times of the year, why not go and be cheered by the children’s lively presence and the works that shine with their individuality?
Articles about Kurashiki City Art Museum
36th Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition Information
| Name | 36th Kurashiki Children’s Friendship Art Exhibition |
|---|---|
| Dates | January 22 (Tuesday)–26 (Sunday), 2025 9:00 a.m.–5:15 p.m. (opens at 10:30 a.m. on the first day only) |
| Location | 2-6-1 Chuo, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Admission (tax included) | Free admission |
| Website | Kurashiki City Art Museum |
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