International Art Festival BIWAKO BIENNALE 2022: ORIGIN Opens in Omihachiman and Hikone on October 8

 This art festival began in 2001 on the shores of Lake Biwa in Otsu City, and was a pioneer in exhibiting artworks and hosting concerts in public spaces, an unprecedented achievement in Japan. It has the longest history of all the art festivals held in various locations around Japan.

 In 2022, the 10th edition will welcome about 70 artists from Japan and abroad. Under the curation of General Director Nakata Yoko, the artists will display their contemporary art works in historic towns in Shiga, exploring the origins of modern society and presenting a vision of the future.

ORIGIN

October 8 (Sat.) - November 27 (Sun.), 2022

*Closed on Wednesdays; no closing days in the final week

International Art festival BIWAKO BIENNALE Executive Committee, Japan Arts Council,Agency for Cultural Affairs

69 artists (including 11 from overseas)

Omihachiman area (10 venues), Okishima area (6 venues), Hikone area (9 venues), Toriimoto area (4 venues)

 The first event was held in Otsu City in 2001. The location was moved to Omihachiman City in 2003, and Hikone City was added from the 9th edition in 2020. The 10th edition will be held at symbolic buildings from the Edo, Meiji, Taisho and Showa periods in the Old Town of Omihachiman, including a former sake brewery and a former soy sauce warehouse, and Hikone Castle and gardens in Hikone City, among other places.

 The buildings serving as the venues are assets that should be handed down to future generations, as they represent unique local cultures. As these are being lost, this art festival attempts to preserve and pass them down through contemporary art.

 Traditional Japanese houses that have been abandoned for many years are cleaned and repaired by local residents and volunteers from all over Japan, and each space is transformed into a work of art and rejuvenated by artists from Japan and abroad.

 Omihachiman City and Hikone City will continue to preserve and utilize historical buildings and foster civic pride among local residents through the “historical streetscape x contemporary art” programs, aiming at the creation of new forms of culture and further development as cultural tourism cities.

 Shiga Prefecture will also promote the creation of a foundation for wide-area excursion tourism through this kind of regional cooperation, and will work to develop tourism resources into valuable content, to attract tourists from Japan and abroad with a view toward the post-pandemic era.