The last weekend of Nakanojo Biennale was approaching when we saw it being featured on Spoon and Tamago – over and over and over again – so Paul whipped together a plan, and I signed up for the ride.

We were quite pleased and impressed. The festival hit all the right notes for an event of this scale. There were a few favorites among the many artworks, none of which were overly conceptual. The strong emerald blue of the dammed river, the greens and browns of the rice fields and mountains.. the colors of the area were gorgeous and blended in beautifully with the classic visuals of a historic hot spring resort town.

There are two permanent facilities; one Information Center right outside Nakanojo Station and a good-sized multi-purpose space smack dab in the center of town, which acted as a hub for all activities. The website, pamphlets, and signage were up-to-date and consistent. Wayfinding was stress-free, as the temporary road signs were well-placed and reliable. At 500JPY, the guidebook acted as both accessible catalogue and guide to carry around. It had maps, stamp rally sheets, restaurant coupons, and quality images of the artworks.

All very well put together, indeed.

It’s the third biennale, and locals talked about “this” one and the “last” one; a glimpse that the event had successfully been woven into the fabric of the town. When we rushed to a venue before it closed, one of the staffers told us to hurry. He then proceed to explain that the graffiti outside the wall was modeled after the dog that lived next door, which belonged to the father of the manager of the festival, who was hanging out a few feet away. This friendly atmosphere reminded me of a local matsuri festival, a pretty amazing feat that I’m happy to see accomplished with contemporary art!

Not quite sure how this initiative economically benefits the area, though. The festival is free. You can drive around the area and enjoy the artworks for a full day, and only pay for gas and food. It’s only a short two hours train ride away from my home in eastern Tokyo, too close for most to make it a multiday trip.

Here are some photos, with more on Flickr.

Gunma Prefecture

Takashi Umeki, "GLASS+LINE"

Masahiko Kiyooka "The Cycle of Things in Nakanojo"

Equinox flowers

Forgotten ASICS shoes in a school gym

Yuji Nishijima "Existence"

Former Gotanda School

Ryoishi Yamazaki "Culture-bound syndrome"

Tetsu Kato "chushin-ni-aru-shiro"

Masahiko Kiyooka "The Cycle of Things in Nakanojo"

Yui Stephanie "Breath, deeply. Listen to the breath in the depths of the earth"

Sachiko Koyama "filter"

Kobayashi Yosuke "MATSURI"