The Forest Festival of the Arts Okayama: Clear-skies Country will be an international art festival held in the northern half of Okayama Prefecture in the autumn of 2024.

From ancient times, the Izumo Road linking the provinces of Yamato to the east and Izumo to the west traversed this area, whose castle towns and post towns flourished in early modern times. The area consequently has a legacy of various traditional structures, crafts, and performing arts. Its land and forests yield an abundance of fruit, lumber, and other products.

Various efforts are being made to ensure the sustainability of its blessings. Of particular note is a project making effective use of forest resources in applications such as woody biomass power generation, which has been given high ratings as a progressive model for attainment of SDGs. In addition, the leisurely time and open space represented by the Hiruzen Highlands as well as the three Mimasaka spas, limestone caves, and other features which have not undergone excessive tourism development hold new possibilities in ecological thinking.

The title “Forest Festival of the Arts” was inspired by the forests in this area, which are full of elements that are of vital importance for our lives, including a moderate climate, ample supply of water and other resources, and foodstuffs. They likewise symbolize its diversity and richness as a place of natural bounty and culture, where people come together.

Taking the activation of this bounty born of forests into the future using the power of art as its objective, the festival will pose a question: “what kind of capital do we truly need?” Under an outlook regarding cultural facilities (such as art museums, memorial halls, and schools), life infrastructure (the supply of water, energy, and food), and the natural environment as components of the social common capital, the point is to create new capital through activities by not only artists but also experts (architects, scientists, and ethnologists), with the cooperation of local residents.

Besides reflecting diverse views, art generates empathy with them among viewers and nurtures powers of imagination toward new perspectives on the world and things. This makes people feel surprised, deeply moved, excited, and inspired, as well as the joy of being alive and the sense of fulfillment that comes from profound sensibility and thought. Infused with the energy of art, the ecological system of northern Okayama will be transformed into a topos that refreshes people’s hearts and minds. This festival of residents in the forested part of “clear-skies country” will celebrate this transformation.

https://forestartfest-okayama.jp/en/about/

2024年秋、岡山県北部の地域において、国際芸術祭「森の芸術祭　晴れの国・岡山」が開催されます。

古代より大和と出雲を結ぶ出雲街道が東西に延び、近世には城下町・宿場町として栄えたこの地には、さまざまな伝統建築や工芸、芸能などのレガシーが残されています。大地や森からは果物や木材などの恵みがあり、その豊かさをサスティナブルにするためのさまざまな試みがなされており、なかでも木質バイオマス発電など森林資源を生かした取り組みはSDGsの先駆モデルとして評価されています。また蒜山高原をはじめ、美作三湯、鍾乳洞など、過度に観光地化されていない悠々とした時空間は、エコロジー思考における新しい可能性を秘めています。

森の芸術祭という名称は、温暖な気候、豊かな水や資源、食など、私たちが生きる上での大切な要素を満たしているこの地域の、自然の恵みや文化、人々が集まる場所としての多様性と豊かさを象徴する「森」からきています。

本芸術祭は、その「森」がもたらす「恵み」を芸術の力で未来に向けて活性化することを目的とし、「本当に必要な資本とは何か？」を問いかけます。美術館や記念館や学校などの文化施設、水やエネルギー、食の供給といった生活のインフラ、自然環境を共通の資本と考え、アーティストのみならず、建築家、科学者、民俗学者といった専門家も交え、地域の人々の協力を得ながら「新しい資本」をつくりあげていきます。

芸術は多様な考えを反映するとともに、これを人々に共感させ、新しい世界やものの見方に向けての想像力を養います。それは「驚き」「感動」「わくわく感」「ときめき」「生きていることの喜び」「深く感じ考えることの充足感」をもたらします。県北というひとつのエコロジーが芸術のエネルギーを得て、人々の心や感性をリフレッシュさせる「場」に変容します。晴れの国の森の住民たちの祝祭は、それを祝う祭となります。

https://forestartfest-okayama.jp/about/