Artika International

Name: Artika International
Address: Sydney, NSW, 2074, AU
Telephone: +61423846550

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Artika International

Art & Video Production, International Project Management. Distributor of Hiyoshiya lights in Australia

We import and distribute innovative products created by Japanese designers who bring an aesthetically adventurous new approach to such traditional crafts as hand-dyed textiles. Artika International also accepts selected commissions to create videos promoting innovative arts, design and business to audiences in Australia, Japan and other parts of the world.

13/07/2026

We've now completed our 23-page pitch deck for Hiroe, the Monk and Me, which is getting sent to marketplace partners across Australia and internationally, together with our latest sizzle reel.

A heartfelt thank you to Andrew Pike of Ronin Films for his unwavering confidence, guidance and encouragement, and to Screen NSW, Screen Australia and Documentary Australia for helping us reach the important milestone.

Our next challenge is securing the remaining production finance while continuing to capture those precious "Once Only, Only Once" moments that can never be recreated.

Every donation helps keep our cameras rolling. Thank you for believing in this film. ❤️

Please support our crowdfunding campaign: https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/hiroe-the-monk-and-me/

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15/06/2026

Please watch the latest sizzle reel for our feature documentary film, "Hiroe, the Monk and Me", including footage from the recent trip to Japan. It's the enlightened journey of 92-year-old ceramic artist, Hiroe Swen as she turns grief and aging into creative renewal and cultural legacy. I would love for you to watch it! In a world that often focuses on division and decline, Hiroe's story offers resilience, wisdom, hope, and the power of art to bridge cultures and generations. A heartfelt thank you to Screen Australia and Screen NSW for their development funding support, Documentary Australia for their fiscal sponsorship, Sony Australia for generously providing camera equipment, and everyone who has already donated to help bring this film to life. We are deeply committed to completing "Hiroe, the Monk and Me" and sharing Hiroe's extraordinary journey with audiences in Australia and around the world. If her story resonates with you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through Documentary Australia website: https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/hiroe-the-monk-and-me/ or sharing this post with your networks. Every contribution helps us bring this important film one step closer to completion.

15/04/2026

Whenever I see the stunning view of Sydney Harbour, I feel I returned home. Hiroe Swen says whenever she sees wattles, she feels she came back home. Then when we see old temples in Kyoto, we feel we came back home.

On this trip, Hiroe and I shared similar feelings of belonging as Japanese-Australians and I’m sure they’re shared by people of diverse backgrounds who have made Australia home.

But what happens when you return after a lifetime away?

At 91, after 57 years in Australia, Hiroe went back to Japan. Discover her story in “Hiroe, the Monk and Me”. Follow our journey: https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/hiroe-the-monk-and-me/

14/04/2026

Wataru Kawashima’s works with traditional ink caught my eyes while walking through the bookstore at Ginza Six today. I often wondered what is the essence of Kyoto aesthetics I grew up appreciating and sure enough the artist is from Kyoto. Kawashima-san says, “like the monks who thought enlightenment by creating Zen gardens, I strive to reach understanding through the act of creation. I merely entrust the unique soot particles of ‘old ink’ to water, causing ‘phenomena’ to emerge on the surface of ‘paper’. Although these phenomena exhibit a painterly presence, I believe it is crucial that the artist’s intention of depicting something appears faint.” His words resonated deeply with my own journey in documentary film - especially as I continue to explore the life and art of Kyoto-born ceramic artist, Hiroe Swen.

Wataru Kawashima’s solo exhibition, “The Depth Within Ink” is on at Ginza Atrium in the middle of Tsutaya Books at Ginza Six in Tokyo till 22nd April.

11/04/2026

Research & recce in Kyoto for our documentary Hiroe, the Monk and Me – 無心のかたち.

Feeling the deep connection between place, people, and tradition.

#嵯峨大念仏狂言

09/04/2026

One of Cornel Swen’s sketches that Hiroe donated to Cowra before leaving Australia last year was of Kyoto’s Nishi-Hongwanji. So we went to find the exact spot he had sketched—and we did. What we didn’t expect was the story that followed. Hiroe shared that her great-grandfather, once a samurai of Hikone-han, worked at this temple after the Meiji Restoration and later became the principal of its kindergarten. Her father played here as a child.

Standing beneath a 400-year-old ginkgo tree, she reflected on how it had witnessed generations of her family… and her late husband. A monk once even brought tea to Cornel as he sat here sketching all day.These unexpected connections—between Kyoto and Cowra, past and present—are unfolding naturally.

Then on Wednesday, I took Hiroe to my favourite matcha spot. She loved it so much that she started filming! I then brought her to Daigo-ji, which used to be my high school marathon ground. Hiroe had visited the temple grounds to see cherry blossoms with her family after the war, but had never entered the temple itself. Once again, she picked up her phone and started filming. She filmed me as I filmed her!

03/04/2026

After 57 years in Australia, Hiroe has returned to Japan—not to retire, but to begin a new chapter of creation. At 92, she is restoring her late husband Cornel’s artwork, gently adding her own colour and breath—continuing a love and creative dialogue that transcends time.

On the day she left Australia, I gave her a piece of calligraphy from the monk. It read: “May you return along your path more radiant than when you first set foot.”

Before dawn in Kyoto, at 4:30 am, Hiroe, her niece Shinko, and I set out beneath cascading cherry blossoms to capture that very idea — a fleeting life, suspended in beauty and made eternal.

This is a story of love, legacy, and the courage to begin again—no matter your age.

If this story speaks to you, I invite you to be part of bringing it to life. https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/hiroe-the-monk-and-me/

A big thank you to Sony Australia for supporting our documentary by lending me the FX3 camera. These images were all shot with their camera.

01/04/2026

Today was something truly special. At 92, Hiroe Swen returned to Kontai-ji Temple in Kyoto—the very place where she married her late husband, Cornel, 60 years ago. Before Cornel passed away in his 90s, he said to Hiroe, “If I am ever reborn, I would want to marry you again.” Theirs was a rare and beautiful love, shared both as life partners and creative partners. Filming Hiroe there, surrounded by memory, love, and the quiet passage of time, was very moving. This moment—so rare, so fragile—would not have been possible without the generosity of those who believed in this story. My deepest thanks to kind Australian people who generously made donations. I am currently documenting Hiroe’s extraordinary journey—one that bridges cultures, art and spirituality with resilience and hope. But to continue capturing these fleeting, irreplaceable moments, I need your support. If this story moves you, I invite you to be part of it. 🔗 https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/hiroe-the-monk-and-me/ Every contribution, big or small, helps preserve a legacy that deserves to be seen, heard, and remembered.

25/03/2026

The monk (88) at Daitoku-ji Oubai-in temple was only six years old when his scientist parents were killed in a bomb experiment and his only sister got shot during the war. Orphaned, he found his path in Zen Buddhism.

For the past four years, I have been asking him to write words of wisdom in calligraphy for Hiroe Swen (92), who has gone through a very challenging stage in her life.

Today, I visited him with Hiroe and her niece. We spoke about life, and about a new project that lies ahead of us.

Both Hiroe and the monk are artists. Both have faced the loss of strength in their hands. And yet, both continue to create.

While the monk was showing us around the temple, Hiroe came across a scroll he had done in his 40s. She loved it so much that the monk took it off the wall and gave it to her.

It reads: “Itteki Kenkon o uruosu” — a single drop of water nourishes earth and heaven. The monk explains, “You may feel small, but you can help make the world a better place.” That scroll will now hang in Hiroe’s apartment in Kyoto.

Their bond deepened to the point where Hiroe declared she would become his “little sister,” and the monk vowed to one day conduct her funeral.

Please follow and support the documentary film, “Hiroe, the Monk and Me” at https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/hiroe-the-monk-and-me/

18/03/2026

As a longtime admirer of Yuriko Takagi—and a lover of textiles, craftsmanship, and stories shaped through women’s perspectives—this exhibition was a real joy.

At Bunkamura The Museum, Threads of Beauty 1995–2025 invites you into a powerful world where clothing becomes identity, culture, and lived experience.

Part of Shibuya Fashion Week 2026 Spring, this is a must-see—and it’s free to the public until March 29. If you’re in Tokyo, don’t miss it.

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