Tomodachi

The sixth annual edition of the Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale in Japan has drawn international attention since its opening on July 26th, decorating the Niigata highlands with a wide variety of artwork and installation pieces. The Triennale is designed to be a return to the rural art festival, shunning glorified urban art exhibitions in order to reintroduce visitors to art in the environment. This year’s Triennale is bigger than ever, boasting 380 works from 350 different artists from all over the world, including new works from artists like Yayoi Kusama, Cai Guo-Qiang, Paola Pivi, Annette Messager, Shilpa Gupta, Tadashi Kawamata, Lee Bul, Shinji Ohmaki, Navin Rawanchaikul, and Noe Aoki.



The works on display range from huge installation pieces to transformed barns, decorated train cabs, found art, optical illusions, and more. Along the way, visitors are encouraged to visit local cafés and enjoy the rural Niigata environments and atmosphere. Since its founding in 2000, the exhibit has been a huge inspiration for artists across the globe, and has spawned similar art movements in China and Thailand. The Trienalle will be closing on September 13th, 2015, so give it a look before it closes up for the year, or check out the event’s official website here!