This, the fourth Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial(ETAT), will herald a new phase. Artworks will be created in rice paddies, abandoned houses, and closed schools. Set in the rustic satoyama landscape, the artworks will be made by collaboration between local residents, urban supporters, and artists. Local people have told us the toils of their ancestors who worked the earth through agriculture. Many people think of Echigo-Tsumari as a place where they will be greeted by the smiles of the old people who live there.
The local people are nourished by the local Koshihikari rice, seasonal vegetables and mountain plants grown from the bounty of the snow and the land.
Now, not only artists, but also international institutions and universities are becoming involved in Echigo-Tsumari and see it as a place of hope. Echigo-Tsumari is a place where people gather to enjoy and create performances, music and visual arts. The Triennial will revitalize the region by combining human endeavor and local natural resources.
Come and visit Echigo-Tsumari this summer.
Soichiro Fukutake, General producer
Fram Kitagawa, General director
