Fukushima Exclusion Zone Art Exhibition Opens to Public After Years of Inaccessibility

For the first time, Meiro Koizumi's sound installation Home (2015–19) is available for viewing as part of the Don't Follow the Wind exhibition in the Fukushima exclusion zone. Launched by the artist collective Chim↑Pom from Smappa!Group, the exhibition began on 11 March 2015 but remained inaccessible due to evacuation orders following the 2011 TEPCO nuclear disaster. Last month, Futaba City lifted its evacuation order, enabling visitors to experience Koizumi's re-edited work Home Drama (2022) on 16 days from late October to early December 2022. Attendees navigate using a map and audio player, listening to a fictional dialogue about returning home as they walk from Mr. Y's former residence to an elevated spot. Since 2015, the Don't Follow the Wind collective has established Non-Visitor Centers in over ten countries, with the latest showcasing wildlife captured by unmanned cameras, highlighting the thriving fauna in the absence of humans. Only one resident has returned to Futaba, and a new municipal building inspired by Shigeru Ban has been erected near the train station. The timeline for the exhibition's future openings remains uncertain.