Setouchi Triennale: Art and Regeneration in Japan's Inland Sea

The Setouchi Art Festival, running from July 19 to October 31, 2010, brings 75 international artists from 18 countries to seven islands in Japan's Inland Sea. The festival is the culmination of a long-term project by Soichiro Fukutake, president of Benesse Corporation, who has used contemporary art to revitalize the region. Architect Tadao Ando designed the Benesse House Museum (1992) and Chichu Art Museum (2004) on Naoshima. The festival, directed by Fram Kitagawa, includes new architecture by Pritzker Prize winners Ryue Nishizawa and Kazuyo Sejima. Nishizawa's Teshima Museum, opening October 17, is a 60-meter-long, 40-meter-wide droplet-shaped building with no pillars, designed in collaboration with artist Rei Naito. The House Project on Naoshima repurposes traditional houses, including Shinro Ohtake's Haisha and Hiroshi Sugimoto's Go'o shrine. On Inujima, architect Hiroshi Sambuichi built a museum on a former copper refinery using natural energy, housing Yukinori Yanagi's works, including Mishima's reconstructed room. The festival emphasizes ecological sustainability and local culture, attracting over 400,000 annual visitors to Naoshima.