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UBE Biennale: Sculpting a legacy of art and community
Finally, Ube in Yamaguchi Prefecture has the honor of being the first city in Japan to hold a large-scale outdoor sculpture exhibition. Started in 1961 as a citizen-led project to beautify the town with greenery and public art, the Ube City Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition has been held every two years since and eventually evolved into the UBE Biennale. The city has amassed a collection of roughly 400 pieces, which remain on display in Ube’s plazas, public facilities and airport.
Perhaps the most scenic location of all is lakeside Tokiwa Park, where several of the largest and most noteworthy installations are on permanent display. This is also the customary viewing venue for new award-winning sculptures. With the festival’s upcoming 30th iteration scheduled for October 27 to December 22, 2024, visitors taking a stroll around Tokiwa then won’t just be going for a walk in the park, but a walk through 60-plus years of contemporary sculpture on vibrant display. -
Forest Festival of the Arts Okayama: Celebrating northern Okayama Prefecture’s bountiful nature through art
Okayama’s most famous attractions, like Okayama Castle and the canals of Kurashiki, are in the southern part of the prefecture. Head north into the mountains, though, and you’ll be ensconced in beautiful mountain woodlands, where the Forest Festival of the Arts will take place from September 28 to November 24, 2024. Through its featured exhibits, this festival shines a light on forests and Japanese nature as a source of inspiration for community engagement. This cooperative nature of the festival aspires to create a “new form of capital” that enrichens the local area.
A wide genre of domestic and international creators that include artists, musicians, dancers, architects, designers, flower artists, chefs and more will showcase their work at the festival, which will be spread across a dozen venues in the towns of Tsuyama, Nagi, Niimi, Maniwa and Kagamino in the Chugoku Mountains of Western Japan. These installations will transform and further enhance the already stunning locales, including Tsuyama’s historic Joto district, Niimi’s Makido Cave and Kagamino’s Okutsu river valley, famous for its vivid autumn colors.