"Forest Art Festival 2027 in Okayama, the Land of Sunshine" Announces Second Wave of Artists: Junya Ishigami, Risaku Suzuki, and 12 Others Join
The "Forest Art Festival 2027 in Okayama" has announced its second wave of 12 artists, including Junya Ishigami and Risaku Suzuki.Summary
The international art festival "Forest Art Festival 2027 in Okayama, the Land of Sunshine" has announced its second wave of participating artists. Twelve new groups from eight countries and regions will join, including Faig Ahmed, India's Sumitta M. Babu (making her Japan debut), Julien Charrière, Mike Hewson, Keiken, Richard Mosse, Uriel Orlow, Adrián Villar Rojas, and artists creating traditional Warli paintings. From Japan, architect Junya Ishigami, photographer Risaku Suzuki, and illustrator Kazuo Kawakami will participate. A main visual featuring Luís Zerbini's work "Abricó de macaco 10" (2023) was also unveiled. Art director Yuko Hasegawa commented that the work suggests the birth of a new form, as if moving forward with the forest or the forest itself starting to move, expressing the festival's concept "Prototopia." The festival's concept is "Prototopia: A Forest Moving Forward," based on the idea of nurturing a better society through small daily improvements, neither a utopia nor a dystopia, overlapped with the image of a forest that continues to change slowly. It also aims to create a place where people from various fields such as technology, agriculture, welfare, and education can meet and collaborate. Additionally, Mika Ninagawa with EiM has produced a special train "Prototopia-bound Train," which began operation on October 10 and will further evolve toward the main event in autumn 2027. Already announced artists include Juliana dos Santos, Isabel Sicart (TOQA), Sputniko!, Luís Zerbini, Leandro Erlich, Mika Ninagawa with EiM, Mirai Moriyama, and Rirkrit Tiravanija. With this announcement, the total number of participating artists is now 20 groups from 11 countries and regions.
(Source：Tokyo Art Beat)