Artist in Residense Saitama

March 8th - March 9th, 2025 Artist in Residence Saitama Project Implementation Artist

“Night Rider Kaifeng” Saitama←→Zhengzhou

A bicycle journey started by a group of female students from Zhengzhou to the neighboring town of Kaifeng has flourished through social media and has become a social phenomenon known as "Night Rider Kaifeng." This work is based on the “Night Rider Kaifeng'' that occurred in Zhengzhou City, a friendship city of Saitama City, and retrospectively explores the relationship between this two cities and Japan.
The trial performance in Saitama City was a tour-type performance in which participants actually rode bicycles themselves and experienced a combination of smartphones, AR, and audio guides materials.

Venue:
Misono Higashi, Iwatsuki Ward, Saitama City - Misaki, Urawa Ward
Meeting point - Misono Higashi 1-chome Park [1-24 Misono Higashi, Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama City]

Implementation date:
2025/3/8, 3/9

Show time:
3/8 11:00 15:00
3/9 13:00 17:00

Composition, direction (sound), text Ryo Kobayashi
Direction (visual effects) Shota Shimura
Choreography, text, voice performance Haruka Wakuta
Voice acting Nobuto Ariyoshi
Production supporting Natsu Watanabe Hokuto Hayashi
Video shooting Salmi Thomas (Kamoshika Productions)

Sponsored by
Arts Council Saitama (Saitama City Cultural Promotion Corporation)

Planning and production
Kobayashi Planning

[Review]

https://artscape.jp/article/37924/

What is “Night Rider Kaifeng”-夜騎開封?
“Night Rider Kaifeng” is a cycling event that has become popular among young people in Zhengzhou, China, a friendship city of Saitama City, where people ride bicycles at night and sightsee from Zhengzhou to the nearby city of Kaifeng. While the activity was heating up against the backdrop of the introduction of shared cycling services, the economic benefits from tourism, on the other hand, developed into social problems such as traffic congestion and on-street bicycle parking, resulting in the activity being eclipsed by the government authorities' restrictions.