Rolling Counterpoint was a space for encounter designed to foster public dialogue about notions of division and belonging in contemporary society. Seeking to respond to the divisive discourse of a fraught election cycle, Our team invited people to join an ongoing conversation centered on two questions: What divides us? and What does it mean to belong?

Drawing on the tradition of the Japanese teahouse, Rolling Counterpoint consisted of two structures: one stationary space installed outdoors and one mobile teahouse on an automobile trailer that traveled to three Bay Area cities; San Jose, San Francisco and Berkeley. At each location, I set a focused topic invited people form the entities related to the topic to join me inside the teahouse and shared tea and conversation. Topics included social and political exclusion in Japanese and Muslim communities, homelessness and mental health in Tenderloin District and gentrification in West Berkeley.

At each location, I invited visitors to join me inside the teahouse and share tea and conversation. Participants, who include members of the public, representatives from local organizations, thought-leaders, community organizers, and others, added their voices and stories to a growing collection of perspectives and experiences that were recorded and live-streamed on an interactive website. After those conversations, participants came up with a list of final questions for community members to hold for a better future. A culminating large-scale public event in each location provided participants with an opportunity to make their voices heard. Guests were also invited to consider how responses and stories gathered from their community could inform creative problem solving and help model new ways of engaging one other in productive dialogue.

Rolling Counterpoint was commissioned by the Lucas Artists Program at Montalvo Arts Center, and was developed collaboratively with eleven partners throughout the Bay Area.

Why a Teahouse?
Historically, the Japanese teahouse served as a space for contemplation and communion with others. In 16th-century Japan, against the backdrop of civil war, tea masters became political go-betweens while teahouses served as radically egalitarian spaces of nonviolence and provided opportunities for rational discourse, conviviality, political consensus and peace. Using this history as a point of departure, Hattori seeks to reimagine the teahouse as a generative space where guests can share stories and experiences, address conflict, foster understanding, and imagine new ways of being together.

PROJECCT PARTICIPANTS

Aaron E Sage, Alaba J. Crosby, Alan Zisser, Beth Greene , Beverly Brown, Bonnie Borucki, Brother Earl, Carl Tinelle, Carla Couture, Chiha Kawashima, Danielle Horne, Danielle Horne, Dolores Norch Cooper, Duane Sears, Elena Scofield, Erin Doyle Ebeling, Eva Mitala, Eva's husband, Ezell Bishop, Gigi Godard, Gordon Yamate, Jeff Couture, John Jeng, Jose Luis Ortiz, Kalifa , Kishna Johnson, Kishna Johnson, Linda Griffin, Mauricio Rodriguez, Morgan Goodlawder, Mr. Ernie Burstall, Nedge, Orazgul Tachmuradova, Pat Krackov, Rica Greig, Rica Greig, Rita Whittaker, Shaghayegh Cyraus, Shantre Pinkney, Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik, Steve Tanksley, Tasha Antonette M. Griffin, Torye Nguyen , Yuri Murata, and many more. (Full credit is available upon request)

ADVISERS, COLLABORATORS, AND PROJECT PARTNERS

PROJECT ADVISERS
Donna Conwell, Curator, Lucas Artists Programs, Montalvo Arts Center
Tom Izu, Executive Director, California History Center Foundation & Audrey Edna Butcher Civil Liberties Education Initiative, De Anza College
Marc Mayer, Senior Educator of Contemporary Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Michael Sera, Board Vice President of Public Programs, Japanese American Museum of San Jose
Kelly Sicat, Director, Lucas Artists Programs, Montalvo Arts Center
Samina Sundas, Executive Director of American Muslim Voice Foundation

ARCHITECTURAL AND DESIGN COLLABORATOR
Koji Saida (Saida and Sullivan Design Partners, Inc.)

PARTNERS 
American Muslim Voice; Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; California History Center Foundation and Audrey Edna Butcher Civil Liberties Education Initiative, De Anza College; Covenant Worship Center; Euphrat Museum of Art, De Anza College; Japanese American Museum of San Jose; Kala Art Institute; MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana;  Saida and Sullivan Design Partners, Inc; and Tenderloin National Forest.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Shalini Agrawal, Marissa Bergman, Craig and Jim Cilker, Rosa Novak, Sheridan Tatsuno, and Scott Tsuchitani.  

PHOTOGRAPHY
Tina Case and Airyka Rockefeller