Paper short abstract:

Based on ethnographic research at the Setouchi Triennale in 2019, this paper examines the artistic processes carried out in island communities, and analyze how the interaction between artists, local communities, and environments yielded artistic results.

Paper long abstract:

While in the 1960s the Japanese art history saw the proliferation of avant-garde art practices in rural regions, in the twenty-first century many rural villages in Japan have again become the places where contemporary artists gather for their artistic endeavors. Distinct from the radicalism of their predecessors, however, these artists engage in art projects and festivals that intend to revitalize the severely depopulated regions. How do contemporary artists from the cities negotiate with the local communities and conditions in their artistic process? What does the experience of creating in rural art projects mean to their professional development? Although there is a growing number of research focusing on community revitalization and tourism resources in Japanese art projects, the engagement of artists is currently underrepresented in social science. Based on my ethnographic research at the Setouchi Triennale in 2019, this paper examines the artistic processes carried out in island communities, and analyze how the interaction between artists, local communities, and environments yielded artistic results. This paper also draws interview data from a group of emerging artists to illustrate the relation between rural art projects and the contemporary art world nowadays.