Tick, tock. We’re at Takamatsu’s dock with one eye on the clock. For it’s a daunting mission, squeezing the best of some 200 artworks scattered over a dozen islands and two ports in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea into two days.
About half the works are permanent and can be seen any time. But in a Setouchi Triennale year such as 2019, offerings expand to produce an infinitely more thrilling experience in this once cultural backwater where manufacturing reigned supreme. Now art attracts visitors from around the world.
The contemporary art festival unfolds every three years over three sessions. But the clock is ticking on your chances of getting to the 2019 edition. After openings over spring (April 26 to May 26) and summer (July 19 to August 25), the final, autumn session is open until November 4.
Visiting during this year’s spring session, we had an express card in the form of Inside Japan Tours guide Aya Komura, who lived on the most famous of the art islands, Naoshima, for three years while working for its museums. There’s nothing she doesn’t know about the best ways to traipse around these islands.
