In recent years, art festivals and live music festivals have proliferated across the country, and many events seem to lack the significance of being held in natural environments. Yet the Towada Oirase Art Festival is a festival built on a sound foundation, emphasizing the natural environment that has existed since ancient times and the leisurely flow of time. The Oirase Gorge, flowing from Lake Towada, is a pristine forest teeming with deep, primeval beech forests and undulating streams, home to a complex ecosystem untouched by the elements. The majestic Lake Towada has also captivated visitors with its crystal-clear blue waters and numerous legends. Spending time in this forest and lake during the autumn foliage season, the most captivating season of the year, is a truly profound experience. All of the exhibited artworks were inspired by the nature and history of Towada Oirase.
Shimura Nobuhiro's video installation projects the sunlight filtering through a large ginkgo tree whispering ancient tales onto a screen made of pins. Mamoru's sound work tells the story of a short sightseeing trip around Lake Towada through sound. Miyanaga Aiko's work listens closely to the faint sound of crackling that occasionally echoes through pottery glazed with hot spring water. In the dilapidated ruins of a former fisheries resort, "traces of dreams" remain, where the tough guys Umeda Tetsuya, Contact Gonzo, and Shiga Lieko ran wild to their heart's content.
Another unusual attempt has been made, in place of the usual official catalogue, to compile a book-sized "collection of stories." The entire project, supervised by poet Keijiro Suga, features novels and essays written by Erika Kobayashi, Sen Ishida, Masashi Ono, Akira Takayama, and Aiko Miyanaga while walking through Towada-Oirase, as well as photographs by photographer Naoya Hatakeyama. These exquisite bookmarks, each offering a lingering sense of the journey, are sure to draw visitors back to this land. This weekend, October 12th-14th, Aomori-born artist Yoshitomo Nara will be directing "A Little Concert in the Blue Forest." Featuring artists such as Yuichi Ohata, Takako Tate, and Toshiyuki Terui (formerly of BLANKEY JET CITY), as well as Japan's most famous band leader, Yoshihide Otomo, the concert will take place at venues such as the Hoshino Resort Oirase Keiryu Hotel, known for its large fireplace designed by Taro Okamoto. This will be a "human-scale" music festival, held quietly in the depths of a forest nurtured by living creatures.
【Event Information】
Towada Oirase Art Festival
Venue 1: Towada Art Center, etc.
Venue 2: Fisheries Resort (formerly Oirase Hot Spring Inn), Hoshino Resort Oirase Keiryu Hotel, Oirase Keiryukan Museum, Lake Towada Pleasure Boat, etc.
Dates: Until November 24th
Admission fee: Set ticket 2,000 yen (planned), tickets for each venue will also be sold, free for high school students and younger
