tea residency
creators
perspectives
gatherings
discoveries
Inviting different ways of seeing, sharing, and experiencing tea
Nari Tea Residency is an ongoing program inviting tea practitioners and creatives from different fields to bring their own perspectives, knowledge, and ways of working into the field of tea.
Throughout the year, selected residents shape a series of gatherings at Nari — from tastings, workshops, talks and creative sessions to tea parties and other formats.
By bringing different people and approaches together, the program opens tea beyond a single tradition or point of view, creating space for more meaningful discoveries, conversations, and shared experiences.
upcoming residents
Past residents
Masaki Murata (JP)
July 2025
Bio
Tap dancer / artist
He began street dancing in high school. At the age of 24, he encountered tap dance in his hometown of Sendai and began training under Masaru Sato. He later moved to Tokyo to study with Kazunori Kumagai. From 2006 to 2017, he was an active member of Kaz Tap Company. Since then, he has been performing as a solo tap dancer.
Currently, he collaborates with artists from various genres, including contemporary dance, theater, and visual arts. At the same time, he continues to develop solo works rooted in tap dance, drawing inspiration from fragments of daily life. Through imaginative expression and interdisciplinary approaches, he creates a unique and personal world on stage.
He received the Award for Excellence in the Solo Category at the SAI Dance Festival 2019 and has been invited multiple times to perform internationally through the Fukuoka Dance Fringe Festival. He is also a certified artist of the 19th “Heaven Artist” program by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
In 2024, he won the Adelaide Fringe Weekly Award – Best Dance at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and received the Best Show 2024 award at the Newcastle Fringe Festival.
Dance Performance - Twilight Tap
Born from the tension between rhythm and stillness, Twilight Tap is the solo performance of Japanese artist and tap dancer Masaki Murata, also known as @muratap. Murata’s practice explores how tap can become powerful, yet restrained, and emotionally charged. Through silence, repetition, and the subtle weight of gesture, his performance evokes the in-between states: dusk and dawn, memory and presence, movement and pause.
Awarded Best Dance at the 2024 Adelaide Fringe Festival, Twilight Tap has since toured internationally and will now land in Helsinki for one intimate showing only. For the can’t miss show we’ve curated a full program of complimentary experiences!
CHATAPMUSIC Impovised
A live improvisational gathering at Nari, created in collaboration with musician Patrick Chang and tea practitioner Uyo Takahiro. Through tea, sound, and movement, the session became a cross-disciplinary exchange between residents and local participants, where everything unfolded in real time and took shape through collective presence.
➝ Archive Images
GATSBY (FIN)
march 2026
Bio
After ten years exploring tea in Fujian, China, Gatsby has been back in Helsinki guiding people in the quiet arts of flavour and scent. Part lecturer, part explorer, she is in a unique position to bring the essence of tea closer to us all. Tea is her daily language, and her enthusiasm for tea is contagious, as you will soon find out!
The Art of Tea and Inspiration
A sensory workshop exploring tea as a source of inspiration. Through selected tea-related works, shared tea, writing, drawing, and observation, participants considered how tea has accompanied creative practices in the past — and how attentive tasting might open new pathways for inspiration today.
Tasting Tea Together
A playful social tasting exploring how differently we experience the same tea. Guided tasting games encouraged participants to follow flavours into personal associations and unexpected impressions, turning tea into a space for curiosity, conversation, and shared perception.
Tea in Silence
A small tea retreat centred on rare teas and an extended period of shared silence. Without introductions to the teas, participants were invited to experience each cup with attention while observing thoughts and sensations as they arose — allowing tea to become a catalyst for reflection and inward awareness.