The Yamagata Biennale 2016, a community-based contemporary art festival organized by Tohoku University of Art and Design, will be held from September 3rd to 25th in downtown Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture, and at bookstores in Tokyo. This second edition of the Yamagata Biennale, led by artistic director Ryoji Arai, a picture book author and the first Japanese recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Prize in Literature, will feature a variety of events based on the theme "The Mountain Speaks," primarily at historical and renovated buildings throughout the city, including the Bunshokan, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. As with the first edition in 2014, the festival will feature a collaborative program between artists and local residents, as well as experiential art programs in a variety of fields, including art, literature, fashion, food, and music. During the festival, each venue will host readings, a used book market, a book cafe, and more, using books as a tool to create spaces and opportunities for connections between the city and its people, and between people themselves. Also on display will be a number of picture books created by creators who thoroughly researched Yamagata together with local residents, including "Booktope Yamagata," a collection of stories edited by Nakamura Kunio that doubles as a walking guidebook for the city, and "That Eye, That Eye," a 3D picture book themed on wild animals created by Miroko Machiko and local residents.
Another highlight will be live improvisation sessions between musicians and artists. Music, art, and dance performances will be held every weekend in unique venues, including the Bunshokan Assembly Hall (formerly the prefectural assembly building), a nationally designated Important Cultural Property, as well as libraries, a former hot spring facility, and a former sericulture research center.
Programs by "food producers" will also be held. The event will feature a free serving of "Michinoku Art Festival" ceremonial sweets created by Shintaro Sato, the eighth-generation owner of Noshiume Honpo Satoya, a long-established Japanese confectionery shop that has been in business since the Edo period, and Daizaburo Sakamoto, a mountain ascetic. Other highlights include gourmet food from Nitaki, a restaurant showcasing Yamagata ingredients on a single plate, centered on the simple act of "simmering" and "cooking" that humans perform to savor nature. Additionally, chef Rinpei Yoshikawa, owner of the popular Shibuya-based restaurant Pignon, will lead a "make and eat" workshop using carefully selected Yamagata ingredients. During the event, numerous tour programs will also be held, including the "Yamagata Biennale" bus tour "Yamagata Travel Bureau 2016," led by illustrator Mariko Hirasawa, offering a variety of unique experiences that allow visitors to experience Yamagata's unique culture, people, things, and experiences, including mountain nature, religious beliefs, climate and cuisine, and regional design.
Major venues include Bunshokan, Senshinan, Togari Building, Yugakukan, Yamagata Prefectural Library, Yamagata Manabikan, Former Nishimura Photo Studio, Nanokamachi Gotenzeki, BOTA coffee, Gallery Eyu/Kuradaimasu, Yamagata Art Institute, Tohoku University of Art and Design, Maruhachi Yatarazuke Inn Machitachi Nomisho, Noshiume Honpo Satoya Main Branch, Kurhaus Goten Former Large Bathhouse, Shinjo City Ecology Garden/Harasan Silkworm Forest, Cafe 6 Dimension in Ogikubo, Tokyo, and Morioka Bookstore in Ginza, Tokyo.
