Exploring the Appeal of the First Setouchi Industrial Art Festival 2026: From Disposal Sites to Battery Factories, into the Industrial Sites That Support Our Lives
The first Setouchi Industrial Art Festival 2026 will be held in October in Okayama and Ehime, featuring art at industrial sites.Summary
The first Setouchi Industrial Art Festival 2026 will take place from October 3 to 31 at seven industrial sites and factories in Okayama Prefecture (Okayama City, Tamano City, Kurashiki City) and Ehime Prefecture (Toon City). The festival aims to deepen understanding of Japanese industry and the culture it has nurtured, focusing on primary and secondary industries such as salt production, school uniforms, denim, shipbuilding, batteries, and resource recycling that have supported life in the Setouchi region. Each venue has its own curator: Yuko Hasegawa leads a team including Yusuke Okura and Atsuhiro Miyake for Mikuni Kogyo and Fuji Clean; architect Kazuyo Sejima oversees Ohno Development; and creative director Masaki Satake supervises the remaining four venues—PowerX, Tombo, Kojima Jeans Street, and Naikai Salt Industries—as well as overall curation and branding. All artworks require advance reservations and can be experienced via tours or individual tickets, with the unique feature that factory visits and art appreciation are combined. The press tour began at Ohno Development in Toon City, Ehime, where participants experienced 'Final Disposal Site -Landscape Created by Nature, Industry, and People-' featuring a bus stop by Shingo Masuda + Katsuhiro Otsubo, Matela-colored workwear by Sachiko Yamada, and a hill by Ryue Nishizawa, offering views of a managed landfill where nature, artificial structures, and human activities overlap. Next, at Kojima Jeans Street in Kurashiki City, Okayama, the birthplace of Japanese denim, visitors can engage with the local manufacturing culture through SYMBOL PLUS's installation 'A Single Thread' and a stamp rally tour. The venue, the former Nozaki Residence, connects to other sites like Naikai Salt Industries, allowing visitors to trace the industrial history of Setouchi.
(Source：Tokyo Art Beat)