A new art festival, "KENPOKU ART 2016: Northern Ibaraki Art Festival," will be held for 65 days from September 17 to November 20, 2016, in the sea and mountains of northern Ibaraki Prefecture. The festival will take place in six cities and towns: Hitachi, Hitachiota, Takahagi, Kitaibaraki, Hitachiomiya, and Daigo. Nanjo Fumio, director of the Mori Art Museum, will serve as general director, while curators will be Shikata Sachiko, who served as associate curator for the Sapporo International Art Festival, Kanazawa In, an independent curator, and Tanigawa Junji, the creative director. While northern Ibaraki Prefecture is blessed with a rich natural environment, both sea and mountains, it also has a deep history of supporting the growth of the Japanese economy through industry, including the coal mines that opened at the end of the Edo period and the subsequent development of the Hitachi Copper Mine. Izura Beach was once the base of operations for writer Okakura Tenshin and artist Yokoyama Taikan. In 1991, artist Christo's "Umbrella Project," a series of 1,340 umbrellas, was centered in Hitachiota, marking a period of modern art development that drew worldwide attention. Furthermore, the prefecture is home to numerous research institutes and hosted the World Expo in 1985, making it a place where the foundations of science and technology were laid. The "KENPOKU ART 2016 Ibaraki Prefectural Art Festival," held in the diverse northern part of Ibaraki Prefecture, focuses on "art that interacts with nature" and "advanced art utilizing science and technology." Through experiments in art and science and technology, this innovative art festival aims to breathe new life into the rich natural environment. The six host cities and towns are divided into two main regions based on the festival's key colors: green for the mountainous areas and blue for the coastal areas. According to General Director Nanjo, the idea behind this is to encourage people to "enjoy the experience by choosing the mountain side today and the sea side tomorrow." Participating artists include teamLab, Zadok Ben-David, Sungmin Ahn, Oron Katz, Tiffany Chung, Thea Makipää, Hans Peter Kuhn, Akane Moriyama, Yoichi Ochiai, and Ken + Julia Yonetani, with approximately 80 works on display, including projects. Half of these are expected to be from overseas. Nanjo said, "We'd like to see artists who haven't participated in the art festival in the past two years exhibit." TeamLab will be showcasing new works themed around "Japanese painting" at the Tenshin Memorial Museum of Art in Ibaraki Prefecture. Yoichi Ochiai, known as a "modern magician," will create a work that combines physics, computer science, and art, while Finnish artist Thea Makipää will present an outdoor project based on social and environmental research. The festival's theme song will be composed by Yakushimaru Etsuko, and will feature a musical piece incorporating biotechnology. Other initiatives include the "Art Hackathon," a participatory program that brings together residents, visitors, and artists to create new artistic expressions; collaborative projects with universities in the prefecture, including the University of Tsukuba, and local traditional crafts and industries; and collaboration with the "ARCUS" residency program for foreign artists. The festival will explore new artistic possibilities through creative activities rooted in the local community. Nanjo commented, "Art makes it possible to integrate nature, science and technology, and humanity. While it is certainly important to preserve the beautiful natural beauty and historical heritage of northern Ibaraki Prefecture, tradition can only come to life by creating something new. This art festival will invite cutting-edge artworks that will inspire surprise and emotion amid the natural beauty of the sea and mountains and the town's vibrant lifestyle. We hope to create a unique art festival that could only be born in the here and now, rooted in the local community."
[Event Information]
"KENPOKU ART 2016 Ibaraki Prefectural Northern Art Festival"
Venue: Six cities and towns in the Ibaraki region (Hitachi City, Hitachiota City, Takahagi City, Kitaibaraki City, Hitachiomiya City, Daigo Town)
Dates: September 17th - November 20th, 2016
