Setouchi industrial art festival opens at factories in Okayama and Ehime
In short
The Setouchi Industrial Art Festival, which exhibits artworks at industrial sites in Okayama and Ehime prefectures, has opened, with viewing tours at a marine engine parts factory in Tamano, Okayama, and at a waste treatment facility of Ono Kaihatsu in Toon, Ehime. The festival is run by the Japan Industrial Art Foundation, chaired by PowerX president Masahiro Ito, and runs until the end of October, with opening dates differing by venue and advance reservations required.
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The Setouchi Industrial Art Festival, which exhibits artworks at industrial sites in Okayama and Ehime prefectures, has opened, with guided viewing tours at a marine engine parts factory and a waste treatment facility. Nikkei reported that the festival began on October 3 at the business locations of seven companies and organizations mainly in Okayama Prefecture. TBS NEWS DIG and Nippon TV reported tours of artworks at the waste treatment facility of Ono Kaihatsu in Toon, Ehime. The outlets describe the event as linking industry and art and, according to Nikkei, as a first attempt to let visitors experience art inside factories. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
On the first morning, a bus tour of about ten people visited Mikuni Kogyo, which makes marine engine parts, in Tamano, Okayama. An employee guide told them, according to Nikkei, “we hope you will experience how a workplace looks through art.” The visitors first watched a science-fiction-style video about an unknown device inside an objet made with yellow shielding film that is used at the site, then put on helmets and walked toward the back of the factory past welding sparks, where the device from the video appeared as a large metal sculpture that uses engine parts. A woman who came from Takamatsu with her child said she felt the scale of the factory together with its sounds and lights, in a place she would not normally see. [ 1 ]
In Ehime, artworks are shown at Ono Kaihatsu's facility in Toon. Nippon TV reported that a conical observation deck about 4 metres high and more than 30 metres in diameter was installed there, exhibited together with the view of a landfill under construction. TBS NEWS DIG reported that participants in the viewing tour wore orange ponchos made as one of the artworks. On October 5, according to Nippon TV, many people came from inside and outside the prefecture and, besides the exhibits, observed the site where transformers used at a power plant were being disposed of. A participant from Kagawa Prefecture said most of the works made her think about nature and that she was glad to come and see them in person. [ 2 , 3 ]
The festival is run by the Japan Industrial Art Foundation, based in Tamano, whose representative director is Masahiro Ito, president of PowerX, which makes and sells energy storage systems, Nikkei reported. The festival is scheduled to run until the end of October — October 31 according to Nippon TV — with opening dates and hours differing by venue and advance reservations required. [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The event is described by Nikkei as a first attempt to let the public experience art inside working factories and industrial facilities, connecting manufacturing sites with audiences through bus tours and guided visits. For the operators involved, it opens their normally closed production and disposal sites to outside visitors; the documents give no attendance figures or economic effect, so the wider impact is not yet measurable.
Key facts
- The Setouchi Industrial Art Festival is exhibiting artworks at seven sites in Okayama and Ehime prefectures. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Nikkei reported the festival began on October 3; TBS NEWS DIG and Nippon TV reported viewing tours at Ono Kaihatsu's waste treatment facility in Toon, Ehime, on October 5. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- On the first morning, a bus tour of about ten people visited marine engine parts maker Mikuni Kogyo in Tamano, Okayama, where they watched a video inside an objet made with yellow shielding film used at the site and walked through the welding area to see a large metal sculpture using engine parts. [ 1 ]
- At Ono Kaihatsu's facility in Toon, Ehime, participants wore orange ponchos made as one of the artworks and could view a landfill under construction from a conical observation deck about 4 metres high and more than 30 metres in diameter. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The festival is run by the Japan Industrial Art Foundation in Tamano, whose representative director is Masahiro Ito, president of energy storage system maker PowerX. [ 1 ]
- The festival runs until the end of October, October 31 per Nippon TV, with opening dates and hours differing by venue and advance reservations required. [ 1 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- An art festival exhibiting works at industrial sites in Okayama and Ehime prefectures has opened. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The event is held at seven sites in the two prefectures. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The venues include working manufacturing and waste treatment facilities, and visitors join guided viewing tours. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The festival runs to the end of October. [ 1 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether the festival opened on October 3 or on October 5. Nikkei says the festival started on the 3rd, while TBS NEWS DIG and Nippon TV describe viewing tours on October 5 as the opening-day activities; the documents do not reconcile the dates.
- The full list and locations of the seven participating sites. Nikkei refers to the business locations of seven companies and organizations mainly in Okayama Prefecture, while Nippon TV refers to seven venues in Ehime and Okayama; neither lists them all.
- How many visitors have taken part in the festival. The documents describe individual tours of about ten people and say many people came, but give no totals.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Nikkei reports the Setouchi Industrial Art Festival began on October 3, with a bus tour visiting Mikuni Kogyo in Tamano, Okayama, on the first morning. [ 1 ]
- TBS NEWS DIG reports viewing tours of artworks have begun at Ono Kaihatsu's waste treatment facility in Toon, Ehime. [ 2 ]
- Nippon TV reports that many people from inside and outside Ehime gathered the previous day and also observed the disposal of transformers used at a power plant. [ 3 ]