were already up and running. That gave them the feeling that they could really do something, but they still lacked funding and facilities. They pulled together money from donations and grants from Kamiyama Town and Tokushima Prefecture. They used an empty classroom in a local elementary school for the studio and one of the cabins at Mori’s campground as a residence, and launched the Kamiyama Artist in Residence (KAIR) in 1999. The organizers of KAIR have sometimes sought advice from outside experts in the visual arts but the selection process remains in the hands of association. They focus on artists who might bring some vitality to the town by interacting with town residents during production of their work and who they can enjoy interacting with as human beings.life (the mom role). The “mom” and “pop” keep in touch with KAIR executive committee members and other volunteers by text message and respond to requests from the artist. In one instance they sent out a notification that the visiting artist was feeling cold and the artist awoke the next morning to find three kerosene stoves left at their door. Visiting artists stay for about two and a half months and are required to produce and exhibit at least one artwork. Presently the studio is housed in a space that had previously been used as a nursery school and a shoe factory, and a former playhouse built in 1920 called the Yorii Theater. The artist’s residence is a house that used to belong to a local teacher. All