Yokohama Triennale 2014
International Symposium

Thinking Together“Creating Global /Regional Landscapefor Contemporary Art
through International
Exhibitions”
Reportヨコハマトリエンナーレ2014 国際シンポジウム

国際展で考える「現代アートと世界／地域との関係」
記録集04

開催概要／タイムテーブル

05

第一部：プレゼンテーション「国際展の多様な形、発信と受容の関係」

18

第二部：パネルディスカッション「現代アートと世界／地域との関係」

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登壇者プロフィール

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来場者アンケート

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Symposium Outline / Time Table

41

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions:
Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

54

Part 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama:
Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

69

Panelist Profile

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Audience Feedback

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Yokohama Triennale 2014 International Symposium

Thinking Together “Creating Global / Regional Landscape For Contemporary Art
Through International Exhibitions”
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the number of biennales and triennales have grown, and their
missions and roles have become more diverse. The International Biennale Association (IBA) held its first general
assembly in July 2014, inviting organizers and curators of biennales and triennales around the globe to become
members and exchange information as well as share common issues that need to be solved.
The international symposium entitled “Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art throughInternational Exhibitions” on September 14, 2014 was held to discuss the current and urgent matters related
to international exhibitions. In Part 1, presentations were made by members who have organized the Havana
Biennial, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, and Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, all of which are biennales/ triennales witha unique history and have made contributions to a specific art scene and/or specific artistic or local/regional
communities.
In Part 2, members of the non-profit organizations in Yokohama who are actively involved in working with
Asian artists were invited to join as commentators to discuss, along with other panelists, the future of Yokohama
Triennale in the contexts of Yokohama and Asia.
［Date/Time］
September 14, 2014 / 14:00-18:00
at Lecture Hall, Yokohama Museum of Art
Organizers:

City of Yokohama, Yokohama Arts Foundation, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), The Asahi Shimbun,
and Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale

Co-organizer:

Yokohama Museum of Art

Support:Pola Art Foundation, The TOKYO CLUB[Time Table]

14:00-14:05

Opening Remarks by the Organizer

PART 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?
14:05-14:25

Havana Biennial (Cuba)
Margarita González=Lorente (Vice Director, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam)

14:30-14:50

Kochi-Muziris Biennale (India)
Riyas Komu (Co-founder of the Kochi Biennale Foundation / Director of Programmes, Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014)

14:55-15:15

Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale (Japan)
Kuroda Raiji (Chief Curator, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum / Artistic Director, FT5)

15:15-15:30

Break

PART 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global/Regional Landscape forContemporary Art through International Exhibitions
15:30-15:40

Yokohama Triennale, Its Relationship and Its Future Role in Yokohama and Asia
Osaka Eriko (Director, Yokohama Museum of Art / Chairperson, Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale)

15:40-16:00

Follow-up comments by Creative City Core Area Base Organizers
Ikeda Osamu (Director, BankART 1929 / Representative of PH Studio)
Yamano Shingo (Director, Koganecho Area Management Center / Director, Koganecho Bazaar)

16:00-17:00

Thinking Together at Yokohama Triennale 2014: Creating Global/Regional Landscape for Contemporary
Art through International Exhibitions
Panelists: Margarita González=Lorente, Riyas Komu, Kuroda Raiji, Ikeda Osamu, Yamano Shingo,
Osaka Eriko
Coordinator: Hoashi Aki (Managing Director, Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale)

17:00-17:30

Q&A1) Affiliation and positions of speakers and panelists are current as of September 14, 2014.
2) Japanese, Chinese, and Korean names are spelled in the order of family name, given name with some exceptions.
3) The Italian term “biennale” is used as a generic form, “biennal” is used as a event-specific term, i.e.Havana Biennial.

40

Symposium Outline / Time Table

Part 1
Presentations
Different Models of International Exhibitions:
Who are the Creators?
Who are the Audiences?

Moderator: Hoashi Aki [Hoashi], Managing Director, Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale | Good afternoon, and welcome to thisInternational Symposium for the Yokohama Triennale 2014 entitled“Thinking Together: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions.”

I would like to start this symposium with a common understand-ing that there are various reasons for organizing international exhibitions, and the issues and challenges relating to them are diverseand complex. The International Biennale Association (IBA), which

was just inaugurated in July this year, is supported by individuals
and organizational members who are involved in organizing andrunning periodic international exhibitions. The association aims tobuild a common platform for people engaged with biennales andtriennales to share concerns and issues. The range of organizational

backgrounds of the members is wide. Some are artist-run biennales

and others are state-run. They also vary in focus, from those thatemphasize artistic quality and the cutting edge or contemporaneity
to those that are more focused on policy-driven agenda, such as tour-

ism. The ways in which international exhibitions are run, operated,and managed are so diverse that they defy simple categorization.

Today, I aim to hearing everybody’s perspectives and insights

on international exhibitions and explore what it could achieve. We

will have actual case studies presented, followed by a discussion on
specific issues. In part one, the symposium, we’re going to have apresentation on the Havana Biennial, which was founded with a

specific aim to maintain close contact with art scenes of a particularregion, and also a presentations on the Kochi-Muziris Biennale andthe Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale. Through these three case stud-ies, I hope we can illustrate the diversity of forms that international
exhibitions can take.

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

41

Havana Biennial (Cuba)
Hoashi | I would like to begin the presentations in part one. In thispart, we would like to study the different models of international

exhibitions. Who are their creators? Who are their audience? Wewill first have presentation on the Havana Biennial by Margarita

Lam Contemporary Art Center, from its founding in 1983 has held

as its main objectives, to study of contemporary art from the Third
World and organize the Havana Biennial. The Biennial has a singu-

lar importance in the international art scene as significant space forconfronting ideas and generates reflection.

The Center’s main purpose is to contribute to the research and

González=Lorente.

promotion of the arts in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, Africa

Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam since 2005. The art

Wifredo, who is considered as the most universal of our artists. This

Ms. Margarita González-Lorente has been the vice director ofcenter is also the organizer of the Havana Biennial. She has also

been internationally active as a curator organizing exhibitions ofand the Middle East. The other is to study the life and work of
is a big task of our institution.

The founding of the Center in the first half of the 1980s meant

Cuban artists in England, Mexico, Russia, China, France, Ecuador,that the Center stood at a new starting point for international pro-

Havana Biennial in various ways since the beginning, and in recent

those regions displaced from the most important circuits of the art

Venezuela, and elsewhere. Ms. González has been involved with theyears she has served as executive secretary and curator for the ninth

edition in 2006, and the artistic subdirectrice and curator for the
10th and 11th in 2009 and 2011.

jection of the art world. Fundamentally, we were to project the art ofworldwide. The study of the artistic and conceptual phenomena of
those regions through the Havana Biennial has been acclaimed forover 30 years and has shaped the institution.

Through the 11 editions of the Havana Biennial, produced

Margarita González=Lorente [González] | Good afternoon! Thanks

between 1984 and 2012, contemporary art has been privileged withfor inviting me here. My small presentation will be assisted by illus-

tions of the countries of the South. We will hold the 12th edition

to all of you to be here and also thanks to the Yokohama Triennale
trations of works by artists from the Caribbean and Cuba. I think
this may be most interesting for you.

Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam

The Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, or the Wifredo

the experimental and the most innovative and challenging producfrom May to June 2015, under the theme “Between the Idea andthe Experience.”

This time, we have to relate the public with their surrounding

environment and other aspects like science, technology, and biology

through our proposals. We will continue our relationship with the
public, or the spectators, by putting performances on the streets, inMargarita González=Lorente
Vice Director, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, curatorial department deputy director

42Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

the squares, and in other places in the city so that we get very close to

the spectators. This is one of the core ideas of the upcoming Havana
Biennial.

The History of Havana Biennial:
Introducing the Art of the Third World

The first Havana Biennial, in 1984, set as its main objective, toexhibit artists from Latin America and the Caribbean, whose cre-ations were put outside of the big exhibition circuits of the so-called

1

Manuel Mendive, Cuba, 2nd Havana Biennial

2

Marcos Lora, Dominican Republic,
4th Havana Biennial

3

Kcho, Cuba, 5th Havana Biennial

4

Marcos Lora, Dominican Republic,
6th Havana Biennial

First World countries. That way, the region’s own diversity and its

artistic panorama would be exposed. The second Biennial, in 1986,

had extended its reach to the other Third World countries in Asia,
Africa and the Middle East, looking for their own elements in theirvisual expressions.1

Both Biennials are important in understanding the development

and evolution of this event. But during the first two Biennials, meth-ods of reflection and the theoretic platform had not been established.
The first two events, with an intention to be as inclusive as possible,
were our very first experiences and we had an abundant participa-tion. A Biennial in Havana became the dream of many people, andit continues to be so to this day. It is an occasion of high expectation
for the Cuban artists and artists from other regions.

The third edition focused on the interactions between “Tradition

and Contemporaneity” in the art of our regions. The public could

enjoy a set of collective and individual exhibitions that offered thepossibility of going deeply into the thesis written by the exhibitionof the Third World. The Biennial conjured harmoniously the presence of artistic and popular manifestations with the art work fromprofessional artists.

In this edition, the creators with a background of ethnic minori-ties were invited to the Biennial. They were invited from countries

which are highly industrialized, with the aim of establishing basis
for future projects and to bring them close to the artists of ourregions that live and work in other socio-cultural contexts. This edition was held in 1989.

For 1991, which was the fourth Biennial of Havana, the theme

was “Challenger of Colonization.” 2 It fluctuated between the sig-

nificance of colonialism and neo-colonialism, by not only studying

the contents of our societies and cultures, but also the languages

and instruments that drive the present time. Together with “The
Challenge of Art” section that exposed the work of over 200 art-

ists, several shows were organized and they underlined, from theperspective of art, the heterogeneous range of questions and answersof the creators in different contexts. This edition introduced, for the
first time, and on a large scale, architecture as another important
form that configure the visual environment of our cultures. A section

was dedicated to the work of some of the masters of contemporary

Latin American architecture. It is important to mention that in thisedition, the Havana Biennial reached out to the areas in Cabaña
and Morro, on the other side of the bay in Havana, incorporating

relatively new buildings of the City, in addition to the ones that,
until then, hosted the event, namely the Historic Center, which also
exhibited around dozen magnificent installations.

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

43

“Art, Society, Reflexion,” was the platform staged by the Bien-system of art had been affected under these circumstances, in anlinks between the artistic production and their conflict with theirworks appeared, together with the rise of s commercialization. Therenial in its fifth edition in 1994.3 This theme revealed the close

contexts, which are often identified as an issue common to contemporary art. To amplify the ideas related to this theme, the curatorial

team hierarchized five such aspects critically discussed by the artists

and articulated in the exhibition: the physical and social surroundings; the different expressions of marginalization and the power

environment in which a new system to support circulation of thewere other issues as well related to how works could be exhibited inclosed and/or open spaces. These conditions influenced the relation-

ship of the artist with the public, the community, and the city; it has
redefined the integration of art to the everyday habitat.

For the first time, several urban interventions took place in therelations in the sphere of art; the phenomena of migrations and thehistoric and the modern zones of the capital, through projects of

the “peripherals” of post-modernity; and, finally, the cultural interac-enabling the participation of the members of the community andintercultural processes; the conflicts of human being which live intions and appropriations. The Havana Biennial was then reaching,
to some degree, an indisputable maturity and had started to gain amurals and works that were installed in half-abandoned spaces,
the neighborhood.6, 7

Also for the first time, an international meeting of art students

bigger international recognition.

of the Superior Institute of Art (ISA) in Havana took place. Archi-

Memory,” was the theme chosen by the team of curators.4 The eventten exhibitions of artists from Cuba and other countries in Latin

In 1997, the sixth Biennial was held. “The Individual and Their

presented the works by a considerable number of artists that registered to the various memories, in order to reaffirm human and social
conditions. The crisis of ethical and spiritual values, as well as thetecture had a significant presence in this Biennial, featured throughAmerica and Europe. A meeting on architecture and urbanism wasalso held with the participation of more than 30 specialists.

The eighth edition of the Havana Biennial in 2003, invokedexistential conflicts, was reflected in the projects through over-sized

the spirit of “The Art Together with Life,” in order to reflect onthat reveal a sense of possession, or point to evocation. Other works

semblances or appearances of our cities, the role of the art in thebodies and the use of objects that assume a symbolic connotation

took interest in the revision of their own art history, the vindicationof elements predetermined by the so-called subaltern cultures, thevernacular, the kitsch, and the recuperation of passages, which are allignored by the official history.

A coherent expression that registered in people’s memories weremanaged, in many cases, with a photographic basis. The exhibited

works exposed two areas related to memory, the individual memory,which come from familiar and intimate memory, and the social
memory, which are based on historic and cultural conditions as two

big nucleuses. These, modifying, once more, the physical and museographical structure of the exhibition, which started showing a certain
degree of flexibility, openness and capacity for accommodation of ourown changing realities. In this Biennial, artists born and naturalized

the everyday life, the conflicts and prosperities, the problems andterritories of coexistence, and the validity of the sizing of zones ofaesthetic realization, the re-meaning of processes, the possible hierarchal relations between categories, and so on. A great part of theworks in the Biennial found its source in political speeches, worldwide events, themes of identity, consumerism, journey/nomadism/
territorial uproot, and ecology. This Biennial offered a bigger coverage of the artistic modalities that came in forms of actions thanrepresentations, which were apparently much more efficacious in
the process towards breaking the border between art and life. This

Biennial brought the artworks closer to the people, for example, byplacing them in people’s houses in the community and neighborhoods, and opened up their possibilities.8

In the ninth edition, which was held in 2006 under the themein Europe were invited, as well as those from the United States and“Dynamics of the Urban Culture,” we presented the visual contem-

interest in confronting works and similar proposals from our regions.

in the urban sites, for example, architectures and the graphic ele-

Japan (this was the first time to invite a Japanese artist), based on their
The seventh Havana Biennial in 2000 opened the new century.5

With the theme, “One Closer to the Other,” we wanted to analyze
the problems of the communication between human, under theconditions created by the new information technology, as they havedefinitely generated a new set of individual and social behaviors. The

6

porary culture, which owes much to the popular components foundments. They produce a complex group of relations, coherent in somecases and chaotic in other cases, but without doubt, they are very
important to the landscape of the everyday life. A workshop wasdeveloped along with a set of special exhibitions.

The 10th edition in 2009, focused on the theme, “Integration

5Peter Minshall, Trinidad and Tobago,
7th Havana Biennial

DUPP, Cuba, 7th Havana Biennial

44

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

7

Allora and Calzadilla, Cuba and USA,
7th Havana Biennialand Resistance in the Global Age.” The resistance in art and how it

through the dialog and the communication between the guests andnet, and globalization as a universal theme, were shown through themation about what is happening in the United States and Europe is

integrated into the present-day myth, such as technology, the Interworks of the artists. Communication, information networks, mar-keting, and genetically modified foods, and so on, were seen throughthree theme lines: economic, marketing, and historic. There were
workshops of creation and projects of social insertion. This Biennial

was perhaps a summary of some of the themes treated in previous

the visitors from different countries that, in many instances, infor-

brought to Havana. The event has also stimulated the confrontation
with the public, which is sometimes disorientated, but is also eager
to gain knowledge about creations that are characterized by theirpotentials in generating infinite creativity.

As for Cuba and its concerning the organizations, we are always

editions, showing the permanence of the existing phenomena in life

wary about being receptive to the market as is. We always try toregions of the world. The permanence of similar problems withinknowledge of the most current works that represent our art today.

and the way they are processed by the creators from the different

art, revealed the existence of great many social, political and cultural

select a solid and effective Cuban presence, in order to provide

What has been highlighted in our Biennial is that we would be

problems on which the artists reflected.

one of a kind and stay exclusive by working with artistic productions

was “Artistic Practices and Social Imaginaries.” We dedicated our-to give a special focus not only to the countries from Latin America

The year 2012 presented the 11th edition of the event. The theme

selves in evaluating how artists put up with the relations between
the visual productions and the social imaginary, to connect to the
public at large. In imagined spaces, the groups of people and thethat are excluded from the power circuits of the art world. We want
and the Caribbean, but also to other regions which similarly lackattention.

Our experiences and difficulties have been multiple. Each event

civic space are linked. We wanted to consider from the viewpoint of

has required ingenuity and speed while confronting the museo-

so that they could feel the Biennial on the streets in the city, where

event does not separate the public from projects of high-quality. Alla spectator, by changing their surroundings and their living spaces,
the main conflicts occur today. In this 11th edition, we propagatedperformances and installed works in public spaces, such as parks,
squares, historic places of the city and the suburbs.

logical system with different languages and various expressions. The

the works are pertinently related to the theme that the Biennale
proposes in each edition.

The future has to be increasingly better. Strategies and joint

efforts to find solutions are necessary tools that all the biennials in

the world should take into account, in order not to lose their events.

The Future of Havana Biennial:

In one way or another, each one of them points to elements of inter-

Expanding Its Relationship with the World

The participants to the Biennials were no longer limited to thecountries of the so-called Third World, or the so-called South, but

it opened its doors to other countries and region. We saw that theircontemporary art are not streamlined into a single thread, but are
manifested in multiple expressions in this complex world of representations.

est, takes the cutting edge as contribution to the different phenom-

ena in art in our region. We present new names and consolidatethem with others. They are, and will always be, a reference and actual
point to contemporary art in our country.
Thank you.

Hoashi | Thank you very much, González-san. As we just heard, theWe tried to discover the differences from ourselves. Articulating

first Havana Biennial was held in 1984 and the initial focus was on

The curatorial work by the team of the Havana Biennial is processed

From the 9th edition onwards, they broadened the geopolitical scopein a coherent way, we circulated different productions as an outcome.
through a system of collective work, in which each curator is respon-sible for a geographic area to study and research, and a collective
proposal that is produced through discussions with special guests.

The Havana Biennial acts as an alternative order to the inter-national homogeneous order, so that there is room left for theunmarked regions and to understand them in global scale. It is

8

the Third World art, largely from Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
of the exhibition, so that it brings together works from a wider

range of non-Western nations, formerly known as the Third Worldand now referred to as the Global South, reflecting the diversity of
the contemporary world and exploring the wide variety of art thatexists in those nations. Thank you very much for that presentation,
González-san.

Jorge Pineda, Dominican Republic,
8th Havana Biennial

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

45

Kochi-Muziris Biennale (India)
Hoashi | Next, we have a very new Asian biennale, the Kochi-Muziris

Biennale, which held its first edition in 2012. It takes place in Kochi,
India, in the state of Kerala very close to Sri Lanka. Today we arevery happy to welcome Mr. Riyas Komu, one of the two artists whostarted the Biennale. He will be talking about the Kochi-Muziris

under the guidance of Dr. Mulk Raj Anand. The Triennale died aslow death with the last one being held in 2005. There have been

several attempts to revive it, but to no effect. At the same time there
was another attempt in 2005, in Delhi, to start a Biennale. But thistoo did not go beyond the initial stages of discussion as funding forthe project did not take off. The idea was then shelved.

That is, until early 2010, when the then Cultural and Educa-

Biennale.

tional Minister of Kerala, Mr. M A Baby, had a meeting with artists

was the curator of its first edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale

engagement for the State. It was during this meeting that I proposed

He is the co-founder of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, and heand is program director for the second. He is also an artist, active
for many years in Kerala but also taking part in many overseas

exhibitions. Today, he will be talking about the background behindestablishment of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, its current status, andthe 2nd edition that will be opening this December.

Mr. Riyas Komu had been introduced to us through the World

Biennale Forum in Gwangju, South Korea. At the time he talked
about the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, and that led us to invite him tothis conference.

Riyas Komu [Komu] | Thank you for the kind introduction. I would

like to take this opportunity to thank Yokohama Triennale, again,
for giving me this opportunity to come here and share ideas about
Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB). As you know, it is India’s firstbiennale.

In 1968, India had, in fact, started the first Triennale in Delhi

Bose Krishnamachari, Jyoti Basu and me to discuss ideas of cultural

the idea of a Biennale in Kochi, in Kerala — a city and state known
for its cultural legacy and deeper history.

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale and Its Hosting City, Kochi,
Kerala

Kochi is actually known as “The Queen of Arabian Sea,” and it

has always been a center for spice trade. The current city, Kochi, ismore than 600 years old, and it has had strong trade relations withseveral parts of the world. But one of the most important aspects
about this Biennale is not just about Kochi; it’s about the other leg-endary predecessor to Kochi, which is Muziris. Muziris is an ancient
port city with more than 3,000 years of history. It was a city whichused to have trade relations, at that time, with the Romans, theGreeks, the Arabs, and the Chinese. What it has learned throughthis kind of trade relation is not just the value of trade, but also the

Riyasu Komu
Co-founder of the Kochi Biennale Foundation / Director of Programmes, Kochi-Muziris Biennale 201446

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

value of building a community through learning about new ideas

In fact, I don’t envision the Biennale as being just a peripheral art

and cultures. In fact, I think we can proudly say that we were alreadyexhibition. As I see it, KMB is a platform for social discourse andthis larger history and context of understanding the world fromtation, and research in India that honestly and seriously addresses

globalized 3,000 years ago. So the biennale has been conceived withearly on.

It is believed that Muziris got submerged in a flood in the 14th

century and Kochi emerged, due to the shift in the landscape of theregion, as a major port. This new city had a completely different kindof cosmopolitan and multicultural characteristics. I think I’m seeingsome similarities with Yokohama.

change and possibly the only liberal space for the arts, experimensocial, cultural, and political issues. As artists and as citizens, it also

becomes our immediate responsibility to respond to and sustain thisplatform quarantined from the museum space and directly engaging
with the public. That’s one of the most interesting aspects of the
KMB — that, it does engage with the public.

The KMB seeks to project the new found energy of contem-

I see that this year’s Yokohama Triennale is also curated by anporary art practices in the world. It has opened up a new vista ofpower of one’s gaze turned to the world of oblivion.” It is theprovide the artists, both from India and overseas, fresh avenues ofartist, and I was excited with the concept which read “Art is thesupernatural that enables us to respond to things that are forgotten,
neglected, overlooked carelessly or simply pushed out of sight. I feltthat it was a great observation, to revive some of our own memories

and traditions — I think we also operate in a similar scenario. I
think that’s something to begin this conversation with.

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale as a New Social Space forexperimentation for artists in India. We believe that the KMB will

experimentation, a catalyst from which ideas originate without thepressures of the market. That’s something which is very importantfor us to assert because we’ve always had art practices in a sitewhere you don’t have museums. The stories that are told to thepeople are through existing galleries and commercial spaces. So

it’s very important to let the people know that KMB is a noncommercial project, which gives the message that art does notalways have to be associated with money, and that it’s a project forContemporary Art in India

The KMB is an artist-initiated project, and the first edition was

experimentation.

The KMB 2012 was acclaimed for its excellence and relevance,

co-curated by the co-founders, Bose Krishnamachari and me. I’ll

not only by the Indian artists and the audience, but also the inter-

where we stand in today’s time.

artists especially had been very generous in their appraisal of the

run through a little bit of the context of the project and how and

The KMB was conceived in 2010, and the first edition took placein 2012 from December 12, 2012 to March 17, 2013. It was a project which was hugely supported by the government of Kerala, andwhich also generated a lot of support from the artist community,

national audience, critics, and art lovers. The Indian contemporarybiennale. It almost felt like that they all had been waiting for this forsome time. Now, the support reflects how important the biennale
has been as an initiative.

The KMB opens to everyone at the same time. This is one of thecultural organizations, embassies and other start-up organizations.

most interesting aspects about the project, that there isn’t any special

own cultural heritage as well as our own past. The KMB seeks to cre-of art and ideas, one in which we all participate, function, and engage

The KMB in many ways challenged the prevalent apathy to ourate a new language of cosmopolitanism and modernity rooted in the
lived and experience of living in Kochi, not as ambiguous conceptualideas through visual art but as real space where human imagination
can triumph over the centuries of growing apart.

In the context of Kochi, cosmopolitanism is more than just aterm. It is a way of life that has survived for more than 600 years. We

consider Kochi as a model of coexistence of disparate communities,

treatment to anybody. We wish to see the Biennale as a continuum
on a daily basis. The first Biennale actually, in fact, broke all the preconceived notions and perceptions which people had about art andit literally walked into people.

The First Edition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale in 2012

I’ll run through some of the works which were exhibited atregardless of what has been perceived and what has been implied

KMB 2012, and also some of the strategies which we had in place.

rent global context, not only as an alternative to the political andexhibiting at 14 different venues, including old warehouses which

and America, but also as a space for conflict resolution.

artworks. We did a lot of cultural programs, including is a series ofas differences. In this sense, Kochi’s history is essential in the curcultural discourses emanating from the specific histories of Europe
This is best understood when you consider the fact that 73% of

the works at KMB in 2012 were site-specific, with artists directly

The first edition of the KMB had 89 artists from 23 countries

were used for spice trades and other activities. And we had 114
talks and seminars.

One of the important things that we did was to make the entire

responding to the culture, politics, history, myths, stories, and people

project available online. This was the first Biennale to be digitally

And in fact, I would say that this is a project which is related toversion of the experience of being at the Biennale. The project wasof Kochi.

the aspect of the understanding of “glocal” among the people. The
KMB is significant in many ways — as a dedicated platform forarchived — so that means, someone sitting here today can have aarchived by the Google Art Project.

One of the primary initiatives of the Kochi Biennale Founda-

contemporary art, as a platform for social engagement to provoketion (KBF) was to create spaces for contemporary art. Durbar Hallrary response to the immediate.

initial grant which we received from the government and it is now

discourses, and as a political space that goes beyond being a tempo-

is one of the spaces which we renovated with a major part of thePart 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

47

1

Uttam Duniya by Giuseppe Stapmone

3

2

New World Summit by Jonas Staal

The Sovereign Forest by Amar Kanwar

4

Celebration in the Laboratory by Atul Dodiya

6

Fado Music in Reverseby Robert Mongtgomery

7

Varavazhi Project9

Veni Vidi Vici by LN Tallur

10

72 Privileges by Joseph Semah

8

5

KP Krishnakumar’s work

Black Gold by Vivan Sundaram

All images courtesy Kochi Biennale Foundation

a gallery of international standard and the KBF takes proud about

M.I.A. is one of the most popular rappers in the world today who

this initiative.

spent a good amount of time in Kochi and she was one of the mosttions to all the artists almost a year before the exhibition was tobiennale. It was her first major art project after her arts education.

As part of sharing the history of the site, we in fact, sent invita-

open, to do site visits, to actually give them time and space to learn

about the sites and the society. It helped a lot to shape the project asa site specific one.
48

prominent artists who produced a new work using holograms for theShe had also performed during the opening ceremony of the KMB.
Angelica Mesiti’s Citizens Band was most celebrated work of

the first KMB and it was a project which was thoroughly political

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

while giving subtle, poignant portrait of the musical culture of foura project with found objects. His idea was to highlight the aspect ofhistory and migration as themes of exploration.

the region, he came up with an installation called No Death. Valsan

immigrants: two in Australia and two in France. The work looked at
Santiago Sierra’s work titled Destroyed Word is very contextual.

Kerala has always been a communist or communist-leaning statehistory, and KMB being a project rooted in the historical aspects of
has also been chosen for the 2nd edition of KMB.

The 2nd edition of KMB will be curated by Jitish Kallat — an

and it has always responded critically to capitalism. So the artist wasinternationally known artist who is practicing in Mumbai. KMB

Giuseppe Stampone’s work which talked about shifting power,

tion and added 20 days as an opportunity for school children to visit

very happy to exhibit this work in Kochi.
Uttam Duniya (A Perfect World).1

Anant Joshi’s work, titled Three Simple Steps, talks about the local

2014 will run for 108 days. We increased the duration of the exhibithe biennale during summer vacation.

“History Now,” is a talk and seminar series, which will comple-

communities.

ment the central exhibition at the KMB 2014. It will bring a range

Sovereign Forest which attempts to reopen discussion and initiate

each other to address historically relevant issues impacting on ourAmar Kanwar showed an important political project titled The

a creative response to our understanding of crime, politics, humanrights and ecology.2

Another site specific work by Rigo 23 titled Kochi Tower

responded to the atrocities committed by the Portuguese when theycolonized Kochi.

An interesting political project by Dutch artist Jonas Staal called

New World Summit was a project where he had painted the flagsof subjects and thinkers from around the world into contact withworld today.

We are also looking at art education in India in the current

context. We are initiating Student’s Biennale as a parallel project,looking into the works of students from government-funded art
institutions from all across India. We have appointed 12 young

aspiring curators and the research on the project has already started.
The Children’s Biennale is an initiative of the KBF to contributeof banned organizations and placed them under a mock-parliament.

to the development of art education in India. It is an attempt toout the flags of the some banned organizations.3

art-making. This is intended to be platform for all stakeholders –The work later became controversial in Kochi and we had to black
The space that Atul Dodiya exhibited was actually a laboratory

in the warehouse. He complimented it with an interesting project
which archived and celebrated some of the contributors who havemade Indian modern and contemporary art significant.4

KP Krishnakumar was a significant artist who represented oneof the most important histories of Kerala — the Radical Movement.
The Biennale had six artists of the Radical Movement.5

Robert Montgomery’s work was titled Fado Music in Reverse.

One could make a strong association of this project with the current
Yokohama Triennale.6

Varavazhi Project is a research based project which talked about

the history of the evolution of art practice in Kerala, like how mostof the artists survived by doing art illustrations for magazines.

7

engage young learners and initiate them into art appreciation andlearners, facilitators, parents and institutions — come together toexplore fresh perspectives on and innovative methods of art engagement.

This year KBF is also doing a project called the Artists’ Cin-ema — a 100-day film festival showcasing video art, cinema anddocumentaries from around the world. This is going to be one of thehighlights in the evening every day. Artists’ Cinema screening will

begin in the evening once the exhibition closes at 6:30 PM. It will
be curated by eminent personalities from the world of cinema andart and with each week there would be a different curator, allowing
diverse styles and visions to come together. So it’s going to be an
engaging biennale also in the evenings.

We also have several plans like workshops and community

Vivan Sundaram, a renowned Indian artist, responded to theengagement projects to increase the participation of people with art

place as part of the Muziris Heritage Project. The title of his work

I also take this opportunity to invite all of you to come. I hope

Pattanam excavation site where excavations are currently taking

Black Gold refers to pepper and the shards of pottery which are exca-vated from the site were used to make his large installation and avideo which depicted the story of the port city which is believed toand the activities of Biennale.

all of you will come to Kochi to see the next edition. Thank you somuch.

have gone under water.8

Hoashi | Thank you very much, Komu-san. Kochi is a city thatquered) responded to this place with an architectural intervention.9

Biennale takes place in this port city. It is administered with support

L.N. Tallur’s work titled Veni Vidi Vici (I came, I saw, I con-

He created the reverse archetype of the commonly found roof tiles
in the region with tiles brought in by Basel missionaries.

Joseph Semah, a Jewish artist of Iraqi origin who lives inAmsterdam, responded to one of the beautiful historical aspects, the“72 Privileges” which were given to the Jewish and the Christiancommunities by the local King. As you know, this is a place where
10

you’ll see the first Mosque and the first Church in India. It is alsoa place where the Jewish were never persecuted and is a place ofreligion and cultural confluence.

Valsan Koorma Kolleri, one of the senior artists from Kerala, didappeared after its predecessor Muziris sank into the sea, and thefrom the Kerala state government, a very rare model in India, indeed.
It’s also distinguished by the fact that 73% of the work in the lastedition was site-specific, meaning it was created on site in Kochi.
As Komu-san mentioned, Kerala is a state with considerable religious freedom and equality, with mosques, churches, and synagogues

coexisting on an equitable basis, and also a state where the Communist Party enjoys uncharacteristically strong support. Komu-san alsomentioned that various improvements were made between the firstand second editions, and there are going to be new opportunities forchildren and students to participate in the coming Biennale.

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

49

Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale

museum building.

Now, the FT is the name that we give it, but compared with other

Hoashi | Next, I would like to welcome Kuroda Raiji for his pre-triennales, we feel that we are a bit too small. I forgot to ask howtriennale that just opened last month. So many of you may alreadybut we have 3,000 square meters or so for the FT. I happened ask

sentation on the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, which is a Japaneseknow about the current edition.

As a matter of fact, artists from the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale

are being featured in Yokohama Triennale 2014’s second venue, theShinko Pier.

Kuroda Raiji [Kuroda] | Thank you. My name is Kuroda of the

Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. We just had presentations of Havana
and also Kochi by the two guests who traveled all the way from those

two places which are far from Japan. Fukuoka is much closer, so I

thought it would be appropriate to give more time to the two otherspeakers, and actually wrap up my talk in about five minutes if I’mgoing to do the difference in the traveling time justice!

Museum, about their size, and learned that they have about 7,000
square meters, which is double what we have.

Another reason one might question whether the FT is really a“triennale,” besides the fact that its scale is small, is that it is organized by a museum, the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. We do theresearch, the planning, and the preparation, and we are funded by

the museum. So it is in every sense a part of the museum’s pro-gramming, which actually sets it apart from most of other biennales
and triennales. However, this does make it similar to the Yokohama
Triennale, where a museum is the primary organizer, and I’m surethere are similarities in terms of the issues involved.

One other point I would like to make is that the FT has a long

that, while the Havana Biennial and others such as the Triennale-

Art Triennale

After having heard about Havana and also Kochi, I feel a bit

uncomfortable and incongruous in the sense that Havana and also
KMB both set their projects outside the museum and are very large

in scale. The artworks are, staged in public places, warehouse spaces
and so forth. By contrast the Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale (FT)

is very small in scale, and it takes place almost entirely inside theHistory of Asian Art exhibitions in Fukuoka -1[Fukuoka Asian Art Museum]1999
1st Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale (FT1)
Communication: Channels for Hope2002
FT2: Imagined Workshop

India have also been around for many years, the same is not true ofmost of the international art exhibitions that have been launchedin various cities in Asia since the 1990s, or the ones that havebeen proliferating in Japan in the past few years, organized forthe purpose of regional development and attracting more visitors.
When we began, back in the 1970s, contemporary art in Asia wasbasically nonexistent. Of course it existed, but even in Japan, which

History of Asian Art exhibitions in Fukuoka -2[Fukuoka Art Museum]

Why Asia in Fukuoka? –1979 Asian Art Festival- Modern Art (India, China, Japan)

1973 May: International Association of Art decides the policy to enhance‘cultural identities’ of each nation

1980 Asian Art Festival- Contemporary Asian Art Exhibition

Mysterious Origin in 1970s

1975: Koike Shinji becomes a member of FAM Construction Committee--- 471 artists from 13 countries

2005
FT3: Parallel Realities

1977 Jan-Feb: Members of Japan Artists Association visit Nepal, India, Sri
Lanka

1985 2nd Asian Art Show --- 264 artists from 13 countries

1977 July?: Sudden cancellation of American contemporary art exhibition
for the inauguration of Fukuoka Art Museum and decision of Asian
contemporary art exhibition

1989 3rd Asian Art Show:
Symbolic Visions in Contemporary Asia Life--- 103 artists from 15 countries

2009
FT4: Live and Let Live: Creators of Tomorrow
2014
FT5: Panorama of NextWorld: Breaking Out into the Future(

History of Asian Art exhibitions in Fukuoka -1（Fukuoka Asian Art Museum）

the Taipei Biennial, which takes place inside the Taipei Fine Arts

history going back to the late 1970s. The reason I mention this is

The History Leading to the Inauguration of Fukuoka Asian1large the exhibition space is for Yokohama [editor’s note: 10,200 square meters],

1978 March: First research trip of FAM curators in Asia

1994 4th Asian Art Show: Realism as an Attitude1979 Nov: Fukuoka Art Museum opened with Asian Art Festival
Modern Art (India, China, Japan)--- 48 artists from 18 countries

2

History of Asian Art exhibitions in Fukuoka -2（Fukuoka Art Museum]）3

7th Congress ofInternational Association of Art

Why Asia in Fukuoka? – Mysterious Origin in
1970s

Policies of FT1-4: Selection
1 No ‘artistic director(s)’2 Researches in Asian cities mostly by FAAM curators (andlocal or Japanese co-curators)
3 Shortlisting of 2-5 artists per country/region by FAAM
curators
4 Proposal of themes based on the shortlisted artists by
FAAM curators
5 Selection Committee consisting of 3 Japanese and 2 other
Asian scholars/ curators makes final decision (except FT5)
6 To choose one or more artists from each country“Let us create new art that answers
the needs of the time throughreconsideration by each cultural
region of the world of one’s own
tradition”= coexistence of different criteria according to eachsituation

450

7th Congress of International Association ofArt

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

-

5

Policies of FT1-4: Selection

Kuroda Raiji
Chief Curator, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum / Artistic Director, FT5

is part of Asia, we did not think that there was contemporary art

theoretical basis for the Asian art exhibition was in a resolution by

now the FT, in this context and this is a major difference froming that not only in Asia but elsewhere as well, it was important toelsewhere in Asia. We established the series of Asian Art Shows,the international biennales and triennales that have emerged inrecent years.

This is information on the five FTs we’ve held. Incidentally,1

there’s one more reason I questioned whether this is really a trien-nale, and that’s that as you can see we haven’t really been able to hold

the Japan committee of the International Association of Art say-cultivate and assert each nation’s own art—art that has originality,
incorporates or takes into account the traditions and culture of its

own region.4 Ultimately, this gave the theoretical grounds for the
Asian art exhibition.

There is this photograph from 1978 in front of National Gal-

it once every three years because of budget constraints!

lery of Modern Art in New Delhi, which might hold the key thatmuseum, the Fukuoka Art Museum, held the Asian Art Show foura contemporary Asian art exhibition. It was artists in Japan and in

Before the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum opened, anothertimes.2 To talk about the origins of our triennale, I actually have totalk about the origins of its predecessor, the Asian Art Shows, but
that’s actually a very difficult topic.

As far as I was able to find out, in the 1970s in Japan there were

unlocks this mystery of why the Fukuoka Art Museum opened withother Asian countries that wanted this exhibition, and my guessis that they probably appealed to the authorities, which suddenly
brought about a contemporary art exhibition focused on Asia.

Incidentally, in 1989 the third Asian Art Show actually traveled

various attempts to for the country to become international. One ofto the Yokohama Museum of Art, so I’m sure that you must stillin 1970, which was the first Expo held in Asia in which many Asian

fourth show, held 20 years ago in 1994, featured Heri Dono fromthe triggers might have been the Japan World Exposition in Osakacountries participated. I think this was a catalyst for artists in Asia
to adopt a more international mindframe.3

In 1977, an exhibition of American contemporary art, which

was scheduled to be the inaugural exhibition of the Fukuoka Art

Museum, was suddenly canceled, and a show of Asian art was

mounted instead. Nobody, including me, knows about the rationaleor the reason for all was decided behind the doors. However, thehave some unsold catalogs somewhere in the museum shop! The
Indonesia and Lee Wen from Singapore, as well as Navin Rawan-

chaikul, who today is world-famous. He’s seen from the back in thisslide, but in any case it’s rewarding to know that we were alreadyshowing him in Fukuoka 20 years ago. And looking over the FT’s
history up to today, there have been other artists who did not haveopportunities to show their work internationally, and who gained
these opportunities through the Fukuoka Asian Art Shows and later

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

51

the FT. That’s a very important aspect of what we do.
Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale and Its Distinct Approach

Here is some information about the first through fourth FT.5

The fifth, which is going on right now, is excluded. One of the issues

that we became aware of was that the key researchers were the cura-

PHUNK from Singapore is quite well known and seems to bevery active at art fairs, galleries and so forth.8 In the past, however,they were very successful as a designers’ group, accepting commis-

sions from various global prestige brands. For this most recent FT,
we’ve intentionally selected some of their more design-oriented
works.

One noticeable thing about the latest edition is the conspicuous

tors of the museum, which you can see at item two, but for the firstincrease in anime and manga styles. Lu Yang from China createdactually chose the artists. The museum curators selected the specificvideo games, but the results are just outrageous.9

through the fourth editions there was a selection committee that

artworks from those artists to go on exhibit at FT. However, for thethis work using precisely the techniques of Japanese anime andHere’s a piece by Kiri Dalena from the Philippines — her otherfifth edition, we have decided to go through the selection withoutworks are also on view at Shinko Pier.10 One of those works is inten-

to choose at least one artist from each country. This is somethingited in Fukuoka. And here is Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho, agoing through the committee. As stated in item number six, we arethat often becomes an issue in organizing the FT, because we’vebeen covering 21 countries and regions since the beginning, and wehave never dropped any particular countries or regions, even whentionally linked with this one here, which is currently being exhibKorean duo who is attracting a lot of attention and who is going to
be representing South Korea at the Venice Biennale next year.

This is a video work by Pema Tshering, one of two video artists

we felt that they don’t have anything particularly interesting to offer.

from Bhutan we are featuring this time.

Instead of trying to choose artists based on some uniform global

Biennale, which we heard about from Komu-san a little while ago,So, we must have at least one artist from any given region or place.
standard of contemporary art, we believe in enabling diverse value
systems to coexist, and going out of our way not to reject them. I

Some curators from the FT went on a research to Kochi-Muziris

and chose an artist, Ratheesh, whose work you see here.

Another thing about the most recent FT is that we wanted tothink this is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of whattake a new approach to promoting interaction among Fukuoka art-end of my presentation.

team Watagata, who already have a five-year track record of programs

we’ve been doing over the years. I will talk more about this at theAt FT, we believe that art exchange programs are just as impor-tant as the exhibition itself. We implement public programs, about
50 of them during the last Triennale I think. [editor’s note: actual number

ists and those elsewhere in Asia, and we asked the exchange project

linking Fukuoka and Busan, South Korea, to come up with a plan.
We will be staging joint Busan-Fukuoka theater performances thisis 86] These include artist residencies and workshops—we especiallyhold a large number of workshops, and feel this is one of our strongest areas. We also stage performances, and of course talks, which
are the easiest to do.

This here, from the first FT, shows a piece by Michael Lin from

Taiwan, who has since grown very famous, and above it a volun-teer is performing a narrated picture-story show with illustrations
rendered by a Laotian painter.6 There were also performances at a
nearby shrine and in the shopping arcade in front of the museum.

The second edition had the theme of “Imagined Workshop.” The

third was entitled “Parallel Realities,” and it featured participationin an actual fashion show and works that took the form of regional

6

Picture-story by Douangdy Khanthavilay(Laos) performed by volunteers on thework by Michael Lin (Taiwan), FT2

7

Yasmin Kabir & Ronni Ahmmed(Bangladesh)

research projects. That year Marine Ky from Cambodia set therecord for number of workshops held: 10 times, with a total of about
400 participants.

The year of the fourth edition was the museum’s 10th year, so

instead of just having young and emerging artists, we featured wellestablished, internationally renowned artists like Cai Guo-Qiang,
which was a new approach for us.

This is an installation by a pair of artists from Bangladesh.7 Right

now only the film by Yasmin Kabir is being shown at Shinko Pier.
Also on view there now is a Chinese artist He Yunchang’s film ofhimself engaging in 100 bouts of wrestling with 100 manual laborers.

The fifth edition is on now, and since a full five years have elapsed

since the last one, we have been trying to stay on top by doing as
many new things as possible.
52

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

month and next month. We also have a special section, “New Eraof Mongolian Painting,” which is a new section for the 5th edition.11

just to show art. Now, saying this might invite misunderstanding,but we place top priority on presenting the culture of Asia andwhat is going on in Asian societies today, rather than just show-

ing Asian art, which museums all over the world do. We want to

Exhibiting Art from “Asia”

In closing I’d like to talk about a couple of our selection policies,

which I mentioned earlier (P.50, 5). For one thing, if you look at item

2 on the list, that FT is organized by the museum and is part of thesee for ourselves and show others aspects of Asian society andits people that can’t be seen at other exhibitions, and if you lookat item 4 (Asian ≧ Art) on the list you can see how we strongly

prioritize the Asian element, in contrast to the first item (Asian ＜museum’s activities. And another, which is item 6: “at least one artist

Art) wherein art being more important. However, I’m afraid that

we do this, but personally I think it produces great results and I don’t

this side of what we do.

from each country is to be chosen.” In fact, we are often asked why
see what the problem is.

Recently, I arrived at this formula to express what we’re doing,

which you can see at the top12: the “art” is more important than the“Asian” part (Asian ＜ Art).

As I mentioned earlier, there was a time when contemporary art

did not exist in Asia; it was completely excluded from the narrativeof the global art world. This has gradually been changing, however,under the current circumstances a lot of people don’t understandIf you look at the bottom of the list, you see items that areclearly about Asia rather than art, and it would be in the domain of
a museum of history or ethnology than an art museum. It’s not thetask of an art museum like ours to emphasize “Asian” more than art,and I think our important task is more like what you see at number
4 on the list (Asian ≧ Art).

Finally, take a look at this. This is the world’s first Triennale-

and today international art exhibitions around the world never fail tothemed boxed lunch! The Singaporean PHUNK collective I men-the “Asian” aspect is placed second on

packaging, and if you buy one it comes with a discounted ticket tofeature Asian artists. For this reason
this list (Asian ≦ Art).

One characteristic of the Fukuoka

Triennale is something that we haveprobably inherited over the years, thefourth item on the list (Asian ≧ Art)

here: that we do not hold exhibitions

12

8

PHUNK (Singapore)

9tioned earlier provided the publicity image for the design of paper
the Triennale. It’s selling surprisingly well.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Hoashi | I would now like to close part one, in which we had pre-sentations of the Havana Biennial, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, andthe Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale. Thank you very much.

Lu Yang (China)

10 Kiri Dalena (Philippines)
Impressive scenes of children in refugee camp who lost everything in thetragedy of typhoon and flood.

11 G. Gerelkhuu (1988-)
from Special Section: New Era ofMongolian Painting

Part 1 [Presentations] Different Models of International Exhibitions: Who are the Creators? Who are the Audiences?

53

Part 2
Panel Discussion
Thinking Together in Yokohama :Creating Global / Regional Landscapefor Contemporary Art throughInternational Exhibitions

Hoashi | We would like to begin part two. In this part, we are going

to be hearing a brief outline of the Yokohama Triennale, and some
introduction to how we have programs connected to Asia.

First of all Osaka Eriko, who is the chairperson of the Orga-nizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale, will be talking about

the Triennale’s role as a Yokohama-based — and in a much broader

Osaka Eriko
Director, Yokohama Museum of Art
Chairperson, Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale

sense, Asia-based — international art exhibition, and about thedirection it’s moving in and the way it relates to the rest of the world.

Yokohama Triennale, Its Relationship and Its
Future Role in Yokohama and an Asia
Osaka Eriko [Osaka] | Hello, everyone, and thank you very muchfor joining us. I’m going to be talking about the Yokohama Trien-

the Japan Foundation would organize the Yokohama Triennale asa national project, working together with City of Yokohama. It was

first held in 2001, and this year, 2014, marks the fifth edition. Each
edition has had its own theme, as you can see here.

The first edition, in 2001, was entitled “MEGA WAVE-Throughnale, and my presentation will be followed by brief presentations by

a New Synthesis.” A large number of artists, over 100, participatedalready know a fair amount about the Yokohama Triennale, so I am

Hisashi’s work (The Insect World/Locust) shown in the Yokohama

BankART and Kogane-cho that we are affiliated with. You probably
just going to do a quick recap.

History of Yokohama Triennale

The Yokohama Triennale dates back to a decision in 1997 by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it was crucial for Japan to promote
its contemporary art internationally and proactively engage in inter-national exchange. As an initial step, it was decided in 1999 that54

and showed their work, but of these Tsubaki Noboru and Muroi
Intercontinental Hotel has left a lasting impression on many people’s mind. The second edition featured Daniel Buren’s installation

using flags (On the Waterfront: 16,150 Flames, work in situ). This one
should have taken place in 2004, since the first one was in 2001, but
for various reasons it took place in 2005. The title was “Art Circus[ Jumping from the Ordinary]”.

The third, in 2008, was entitled “TIME CREVASSE,” and theLandmark Plaza, shown here, was one of the temporary spaces wherePart 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

Ikeda Osamu

Yamano Shingo

Director, BankART1929
Representative of PH Studio

Director, Kogane-cho Area Management Center
Director, Kogane-cho Bazaar

Elmgreen & Dragset’s work (Catch Me Should I Fall) as installed.

This time, the fifth edition, has the title “ART Fahrenheit 451:

Then the fourth was “OUR MAGIC HOUR-How Much of theSailing Into the Sea of Oblivion.”

Museum of Art was involved. Here you see Ugo Rondinone’s sculp-

The Growth of Periodic International Exhibitions and Their

World Can We Know?”, and this was the first where the Yokohama
tures (moonrise. east.)1 displayed in front of the museum, and Yin

Xiuzhen’s work (One Sentence) in the grand gallery just inside themuseum. As I mentioned, for the first three editions, the museum

Organizations

Looking back over history, international exhibitions like thesewas not involved with the Triennale. Up to the 3rd edition, the sec-

known as biennials in English or biennale in Italian began to beafter the Democratic Party of Japan took power in 2009, the Japantion compiled by the Asia Art Archive (http://www.aaa.org.hk/

retariat for the Triennale was a part of the Japan Foundation, but
Foundation had to withdraw from the Triennale as a result and so

the core of the organization and the secretariat was transferred to
Yokohama. So, since 2011 the Triennale office has been locatedinside the museum, and an organizing committee consisting of theCity of Yokohama, the Yokohama Arts Foundation, NHK, and The
Asahi Shimbun, and others.

staged near the end of the 19th century. According to the informaonlineprojects/bitri/en/timeline.aspx), the first ones to appear in
the 1890s were the Venice Biennale, the Carnegie International in

Pittsburgh, and the Whitney Biennial in New York City. Later, inthe 20th century, eight more were launched between 1946, right afterWorld War II, through the 1970s. 28 more emerged in the 1980s
and 1990s. Since the year 2000, many more have been launched, if

Part 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

55

you include all the small-scale ones, and the International Biennale
Association (IBA) puts the total at around 200. In countries aroundthe world, the number of art exhibitions and international art showsheld every two or three years and labeled “biennales” or “triennales”
is increasing exponentially.

The organizations behind these biennales and triennales fall into

various categories as well. There are state-run national projects, thoserun by regional governments, and there are those run by independent organizations. For example, Gwangju or São Paulo are bien-

nales where there is a dedicated foundation established just for the
purpose of organizing and running the Biennale.

1

Ugo RONDINONEUgo RONDINONE, moonrise. east., 2005
Courtesy the artist and Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zürich
©the artist
Photo by KIOKU Keizo

In the case of Yokohama, we use local government funds. The

core funding comes from the City of Yokohama, but it is run by an

Yokohama Triennale

organizing committee and not directly by the city. Then we haveexamples like Fukuoka where a museum is the main organizer. The

NPO
Public art museum + NPO

Carnegie International run, by the Carnegie Museum of Art, andinternational and regional

the Taipei Biennial, run by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, are also

Emphasis on exchange between Asian countries

ennale office in the museum, and while the museum is one of the2both examples of that. In the case of Yokohama, we have the Trimain venues, the organizing committee is the main organizer, so themuseum is not single-handed in running it. There are also examples,
like Kochi, of biennales initiated and run by artists, and these exist
all over the world, though usually at relatively small scale.

The IBA, or the International Biennale Association, has been

seeking to strengthen networks among to the 200 biennales andtriennales that exist around the world. It was inaugurated in July ofthis year with a general assembly in Berlin. The Yokohama Trien-

nale is one of the founding members of the IBA. The association

aims to build a network, to promote and share the creative aspects ofcontemporary arts, and to expand on their inherent possibilities. It

also aims to fund a specialized research platform, with the conceptthat while there are international exhibitions, biennales and trien-

nales of all sizes, regardless of size the staff running them ought tobe able to learn and develop their skills through engagement withthis sort of association. The idea is that the dozens of biennales andtriennales out there should not be competing with one another, butrather should be sharing and cooperating, and thus far its institutional members representing around 40 organizations worldwide.

As we have seen there are all kinds of international art events

taking place around the world and they are diversifying in termsof their development, administration, and characteristics, but inthis environment we view our own challenge as being: What do wewant to emphasize and how do we want to position ourselves in
the greater context of Asia? On this topic, we view the Yokohama

Triennale as being clearly distinguished by partnerships between apublic museum and local nonprofit organizations.2 On that note, I

would like to pass the microphone over to the people of BankART

and Kogane-cho, who will be giving us presentations about what
they are doing.

Hoashi | Thank you, Osaka-san. And next I would like to welcome

Mr. Ikeda Osamu, the director of BankART 1929, who is also active

as an artist and the member of the artist unit PH Studio. He will
briefly introduce his space and the main programs that he is running
this year.
56

3

BankART NYK StudioPart 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

Follow-up Comments
by Creative City Core Area Base Organizers
Ikeda Osamu [Ikeda] | Hello. Our building 3, which is very close tohere, is what you call an alternative space, and the project we are now

engaged in, in a partnership with the Yokohama Triennale 2014, iscalled BankART Life IV. Ordinarily, we are a team running an exhibition facility, just like the administrators in this museum runningtheir facility. We’ve been here for about 10 years, and one of our day-to-day considerations is how we are going to participate, what weare going to present and how, in the next Yokohama Triennale. Ourorganization was established with the goal of doing something in,and for, the community of Yokohama, so we are thinking year in andyear out about ways of connecting art with community development.

Almost all of the artists we selected for Dreams of East Asia arein fact from East Asia. We used the entire space, about 3,000 square

meters, and got artists to do things that used the space effectively.
This here is a video by Takahashi Keisuke projected on to an installation by Kawamata Tadashi. In the nearby neighborhood, we pursued
something called the Landmark Project. BankART itself is essentially a community revitalization project and has had close ties withthe community from the start, but the Landmark Project is a wayof inserting art into community spaces in a more targeted mannerso as to open up the unrealized potential of spaces. Here’s a work

being exhibited at the city government building, which is a historic
landmark building designed by the renowned architect Murano

Togo designed as a commemoration of Yokohama’s 100th year as

a municipality.5 Matsumoto Akinori created this installation there,

which you can see on weekdays only.

This is the BankART Studio NYK terrace.6 It’s next to the

BankART1929 and East Asia

This year Yokohama has been selected as one of the Culture Cit-ies of East Asia, along with Gwangju in South Korea and Quanzhou

in China, and there has been a lot of discussion of international

exchange in the broad context of these three countries, so this question of how to interpret our East Asian context comes into playwhen we consider our part in the Triennale. What we arrived at was

the theme and title Dreams of East Asia. For us at BankART, thisEast Asian context relates to what we are engaged in our regularprograms. As you can see in this photo, we have this project explor-

ing the Josen-Korean Diplomatic Expeditions, inspired by thewater, and we have taken various steps to enable people to enjoy thebayside atmosphere. There is a bus, there are food stalls designedby the architecture firm Atelier Bow-Wow, there are performancesof the work of Asakura Setsu, and these two large dolls are by a
Korean group called Noridan who did a residence as part of theJosen- Korean Diplomatic Expeditions project. These dolls venturedout into the city. Shown in this photo is a very enjoyable place called
Asian Garden.

Thank you for your attention.

Hoashi | Thank you very much Ikeda-san. BankART has been active

expedition that took place during the Edo period,, and we have beenin Yokohama for a decade, and Dreams of East Asia in one highlight

exploring relationships among China, Japan, and Korea, so that fits

together in an archive-like form and exhibit works by artists who

running for four or five years now. We launched it with the goal ofright into this East Asia theme.4

4

BankART Life IV ―Dreams of the East Asia

5of what they’ve been doing. It has been a good opportunity to bringhave produced or exhibited work at BankART thus far.

Landmark Project (Yokohama City Hall)

6

Asian Garden

Part 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

57

Hoashi | Next, I would like to welcome Mr. Yamano Shingo, thethat has sustained its momentum to the present day. Another reason,

BankART, is partnering with the Yokohama Triennale 2014 in thepeople with an incredible number of different nationalities, and we

director of Kogane-cho Area Management Center, which like
Creative City Core Area Base Tie-Up Program.

Yamano Shingo [Yamano] | Hello, my name is Yamano.

I think, is that Kogane-cho and the surrounding area is home toare looking for ways to incorporate this multiculturalism into what
we do.

This year we have the title “Fictive Communities Asia,” but if I

I think there are a lot of you here today who are very wellstart to explain this title it will take up the rest of the time, so pleaseabout it. This is a relatively recent photo, but this area, Hatsunecho,of the participating artists from Indonesia, and LiarBen from Viet-informed about Kogane-cho, and others who know nothing at all
Koganecho and Hinodecho, was historically a red light district, andapparently at its peak there were 257 brothels here. Just the otherday someone was arrested there, for the first time in a long time, andit was a moment in which I was reminded, “Oh, this kind of thing

still goes on!” Be that as it may, what we primarily do here is run
7artist-in-residence programs. Former brothels, which are euphemistically referred to as illegal bar, are being renovated, and under the
railway new facilities are being built. Both types of spaces are usedtake a look at our website if you’re interested. This is Yaya Sung, one

nam.9 He’s a graffiti artist, or street artist, and he continues working
on public murals. This year we have 38 artists or groups taking part.

Yokohama Triennale and the Urban Planning for the City of
Yokohama

What I really wanted to talk about today is in this last presen-tation material.10 It says “2020,” but in fact there’s a separate slide

for our programs.

which shows 2017. If all goes well, 2017 and 2020 will be years

Koganecho and Asia

haps this is difficult to understand for those who come from outsidewhen the Yokohama Triennale is held. That’s “if ” all goes well. Per-

Thus far we have positioned this artist-in-residence program as

the main contribution we make in developing the Yokohama Cre-

ative City Core Area, and so far, have mainly accommodated young

artists and curators from Asian countries, as well as Japanese artists.
This photo is from this year, and it shows artists and curators

engaged in a symposium.8 This was the second of a series of sympo-

siums, and next year the third is scheduled to be held in Vietnam.

Kuroda-san was saying earlier that there are many Asian artists

in the Kogane-cho program. One reason for this is, I’m originallyfrom Fukuoka where the 4th ASIAN ART SHOW, Fukuoka washeld in 1994, and I feel that this is kind of a spinoff from that event

7

Beneath the Railways

8

Yokohama, but let me explain: if you look at this map here, on thebottom left you see the Kangai Area, which refers to Kogane-cho

and its environs. If your eye keeps moving to the right from there,
you see the Kannai Area, which is where big public facilities like
Yokohama City Hall and Yokohama Stadium are located. Here it
says “former Yokohama City Hall,” which is because the city hallis scheduled to move to this location on the upper left of the map

by 2020. Currently, they are still monitoring public opinion. Then

you have the Yamashita Area, and it’s just written roughly here,
but starting around 2025 they are planning a major redevelopment

project here. Then there’s BankART there, and then the Kitanaka

Area, which is labeled “including YCC,” but that’s a reference that

International Symposium “Alternative Route”

9

LiarBen ‘Kogai-Sugar cane Super Machine’2014

Photo by Yasuyuki Kasagi

58

Part 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

won’t mean much to people who aren’t familiar with Yokohama.
Right next to that is where the new city hall is supposed to be built,
and right next to it, the new Mori Building. Then over here is the
Minatomirai Area, which you probably know is where the Yokohama Museum of Art is located, and Yokohama Station is right inthe center of it. In 2020 a new large building is scheduled to open

at the west entrance of the station. All of these areas, Kangai, Kan-Thinking Together at Yokohama Triennale
2014: Creating Global / Regional Landscapefor Contemporary Art through International
Exhibitions
Hoashi | Now I’d like to ask Kuroda-san, Komu-san, and González-nai, Yamashita, Minatomirai, can be reached in a short time fromsan to come up here and discuss the broader issue of what direc-

goes around the corners of this square, you’ll be able to zoom aroundrelationship between the Yokohama Triennale and the NPOs it is

Yokohama Station, so if they make a public transport system thatthe whole area in no time.

The reason why I’m talking about this is, first of all, all this rede-velopment is happening in the bayside area, so the problem of deterioration, economic decline, in the inlande areas is one that people
are already talking about, and in fact it’s already happening. How
to stop this decline is going to be a major source of concern for thetion Yokohama Triennale ought to be taking. In simple terms, thepartnering with involves tie-up tickets for the two main Yokohama

Triennale venues and the two venues administered by the NPOs, aswell as a free shuttle bus between the venues. I ask what direction
the Triennale ought to be taking because I believe we are on the cuspof a transition.

While the Yokohama Triennale is currently partnering with two

entire city. When I showed this map to some other people, I drew a

NPOs and we have the potential to expand further, as proposed by

written there. What I meant was that the entire city could be turnedcity, at the same time right now there seems to be a trend toward

circle around the entire thing and had “Yokohama Triennale 2020”
into a venue, and I’m not sure to what extent this could actually be

accomplished, but I intend to promote the idea as much as I can.
In 2020, I’m going to be 70! By the time the redevelopment of the

Yamashita Pier area is finished, I’ll be 100. I don’t think I’m going

Yamano-san, so that we are carrying out activities throughout theconsolidating things around the museum. Over the next hour of discussion, above all what I’d like to hear from everyone is their opinions on what directions we should take in this time of transition.

First, González-san, having seen the Yokohama Triennale andto make it to that point, but while I can I want to move forward

the City of Yokohama, and having seen the various activities under-organizers. My background is in art and I am not a professional on

are the expectations that you have?

with this vision and coordinate with that of the Yokohama Triennale
urban planning, but these are some ideas that I have. Thank you

taken by Yokohama, how do you feel about the Triennale and whatvery much.

Impression of Yokohama Triennale 2014

Hoashi | Thank you very much, Yamano-san, for your new proposals

González | Coming here was a very important experience for me

the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games will be held.

but I knew about the Yokohama Triennale. Today I visited two

and plans for the futureYokohama Triennale. 2020 is the year that

because Havana is a very distant from Japan. It’s my first time here,
venues of the Triennale, and understood that this is very important

exhibition for the artists in Asia and also for all the artists aroundthe world. I saw very many people visiting the Triennale.

I saw very interesting artists who are historically important,such as John Cage and Ana Mendieta, originally from Cuba, exhibited along with other artists who provide a different and new idea

through their contemporary artwork. I understand that this Trien-

nale is keen on building a relationship with different biennales andtriennales, and, therefore, I was invited here this time to talk. It was

important for me to be here and actually see the activities and thepeople visiting this wonderful museum.

Hoashi | Thank you. Komu-san, today you saw the Shinko Piervenue, and you said you felt a sense of similarity to Kochi because
it’s a port city as well. So what’s your impression of the Yokohama
Triennale overall?

Komu | First of all, I would like to extend my congratulations to

the artistic director of this edition, Morimura Yasumasa. Before seeing the Triennale, I went through the website and I saw one of the

projects which asked people to throw away the artworks which they
10 Idea for Yokohama Triennale and Creative City
Yokohama, 2020

didn’t want. I think such an intervention, where you are actually giv-

ing an opportunity to others to respond to a proposal like this is very

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59

relevant. The sense of rejection implied in this project is something

SeMA Biennale Mediacity Seoul. For that reason I hadn’t been to

I wonder how many of them have thrown some of their important

there is a need for the Yokohama Triennale it should be a launch padwhich most of the artists can sympathize with in the current context.
works unknowingly. I’m taking away something from this project —a statement that articulates the current context of art.

I could draw a lot of parallels between Kochi and Yokohama,both being port cities. Port cities develop a strange narrative in rela-tion to the world, which, in exchange, draws curiosity. The younger

generation understands history through the idea of giving and thethe previous Yokohama Triennale. However, what I told them was, if

to present the work of Japanese artists to the world. That viewpoint
wasn’t incorporated into the conclusions of the committee, and I
recall signing the final documents of the committee with some complaint. Thank you very much.

Yokohama as an International City and Hosting Yokohama

idea of sharing. So I think that’s the curiosity which we all live with.

Triennale

Hoashi | Kuroda-san, you are a participant rather than an observer

Yokohama Triennale as a launch pad for artists, but I think when wewere upon taking part here, as the representative of the Fukuoka

for the artists, the citizens, the audience, and, last but not least, forI felt that a lot of things in this Triennale are similar to us

of our current Triennale, but I’d like to ask what your impressions
Asian Art Triennale, as well as how you responded when you first
got the call to participate. Could you tell us a bit about the background to all this?

Kuroda | Well, I just thought that I would be a fool to turn thisdown, not just because of the opportunity it presents as a curator, but

because the Fukuoka City doesn’t have adequate amount of funding.
Yamano-san over there knows how poor we are. Fukuoka does faceshortage of funding, and Yokohama has taken Yamano-san awayfrom us, and he is no doubt well aware that Yokohama has ten times

Hoashi | Thank you. Kuroda-san mentioned the possible role ofwork in Yokohama, we are always conscious of what we should do

the city and its community. I would like now to ask Yamano-san and
Ikeda-san about how they respond to the needs of the artists, audi-

ence, and the community. And in addition, share with us how you
approach artists, audience, and the community, specifically with yourprograms related to Asia. Yamano-san, could you speak first please?

Yamano | For the artist, we are focusing on really young Asian art-ists. 70% of the artists we are working with right now have come to
Japan for the first time or traveled abroad for the first time.

So, they are creating networks. They are all contacting each otherthe budget for culture that we do. As this Triennale was to opened

via Facebook. When they go back they will be able to keep in touchcome during that time, which means that we could have this mag-and residencies and so forth, in which we hope to be able to support.

one month before we did, and there would be, say, 50,000 people tonificent opportunity for PR, reminding all those contemporary art

followers that Fukuoka has an Asian Art Triennale that opens thisyear. There’s no way we would ever have the money to advertise inwith each other’s and maintain relationships through exhibitions
I think this is appropriate for us because we focus on carrying out
residency programs.

When we have Southeast Asian artists, they have a tendency notnationwide media, magazines and so forth, and this was something

to spend much money on making art, and their work is sometimes

That’s how I felt from the point of view of museum business,may relate to what Kuroda-san was saying earlier, when we selectlike free advertising. That was the biggest draw for us!

anyway. At the same time I want to say that we are very gratefulto Morimura Yasumasa, because he does things that only an artist
would be able to do. I’m sure he will continue to do them, and I

am extremely sympathetic to what he is doing. So in selecting workfor this Triennale, I left the theme of FT5 completely behind, anddescribed as looking rather cheap or second rate. However, and thisartists we have a policy of trying to introduce a wide range of foreigncultures, and we actually place a priority on selecting younger artists
and watching them grow. Our stance is that this is a good opportunity to help these artists to grow and to develop.

As for the community, I first got involved with the Yokohama

I selected all the works we presented based on the theme of the

Triennale as a curator in 2005, and there was an idea at the time of

in fact I’m very serious deep down, and I tried to think very seriously

addition to the main venue. And that’s the reason why they con-

Yokohama Triennale. I may look like I’m always joking around, but
about how to coordinate our selection of works with Morimura-san’s
theme.

A few years ago, when they were reviewing public sector opera-

tions under the Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Foundation

held a committee to decide whether or not to continue with Yoko-

expanding it out into the city, of having various satellite venues intacted me in the first place. Unfortunately, this idea had to be aban-

doned because of various considerations, but I was then told that I

should be in charge of Asia. However, from the very beginning there
was this idea of expanding this Triennale to other areas of the city.

Now, as an international art exhibition, I think the Yokohama

hama Triennale, and if not, then who ought to do it. The conclu-

Triennale is really on the brink. It might have become, along the way,

Triennale should be run by the Japan Foundation, and the point

ferent from others, and in fact it might have been that way from thesion was already decided at the start, namely that the Yokohamaof the conference was to arrive at this conclusion. I attended theconference, and at the time, I have to say, I thought the Yokohama

Triennale was useless and I said so in so many words. If you want

to see international contemporary art exhibitions, you can easily goto Korea and see the Busan Biennale, the Gwangju Biennale, or60

just one of the generic international art exhibitions which is no dif-

beginning. I was wondering if Yokohama had anything that made it

distinctive, any notable goals that set it apart from the rest. So, thediagram that I showed to you was one of my proposals that I hopemight help to resolve these issues.

Part 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

Hoashi | Thank you very much. Ikeda-san, what are your trying toof the Yokohama Triennale.

to your current focus on Asia?

Osaka | I believe people have a wide range of opinions and ideas

Ikeda | Yokohama is a city that, like Okinawa, the national govern-

one of the major Triennale venues was an important change.

provide to the artists, the viewers, and the city, especially with regard

ment was instrumental in its development 150 years ago. Since thenabout the Yokohama Triennale. I think that making the museum
A museum has various roles, and one of the important andit has gradually become more autonomous, a place that its citizens

inevitable ones, I feel, is to communicate a message of coexistence

the tenure of the Socialist mayor Asutaka Ichio. In preparation forof life and rules for living, because there are so many different ones

could take pride in, and this process advanced dramatically during

the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the authorities were filling in rivers andcanals to build highways throughout Tokyo, and they wanted toapply that to the Yoshidabashi in Yokohama as well. A movement

arose to stop it, there was a fierce battle, and at the end of it the

highway was built underground rather than reclaiming the river.
They showed how Yokohama was willing to work in accordance withgovernment policy but would do things its own way, with its own
ideas about urban planning, and maintain its citizens’ pride in thecity. After that there were six major state-run public works projects,

among different value systems, different cultures, and different ways
in our world. And museums enable people to encounter different
and unfamiliar value systems and to recognize the need to coexist

with them. I think the Yokohama Triennale can play a major rolein delivering that message through art. This is not only one of thethings an international art exhibition can achieve, but also one of the
key roles of museums in general, but in any case it is important toconvey this message to as large an audience as possible in a visible,
tangible form.

An event such as ours has the capacity to actualize, from mul-like the Minatomirai redevelopment, the bay bridge, and Kohoku

tiple vantage points, the creative power of art and the recognition ofcity came up with the Creative City Yokohama policy to promote

can become a more attractive place and attract more visitors, includ-

New Town, and the Yokohama Triennale fits into that context. The
revitalization of older parts of the city, which were losing vitality

a bit. Part of the mission of the Yokohama Triennale, the reason
for holding it every three years, is to improve the presentation of
the city, open it up to world like a surgical procedure that requires

cutting and opening. You work hard to shape and develop the city

for three years, and then share the results with people from overseas,from elsewhere in Japan, and with Yokohama’s own people.

diversity. And because this can be done not on a large scale, the city

ing those who never had a reason or opportunity to visit thus far. It

sounds very simple when you say it, but it is very difficult to achieve.
What is really important is to have that kind of goal in mind, and toenable people with diverse ideas to network with one another, which
I believe means building face-to-face relationships.

Hoashi | Thank you. Just now, when you talked about coexistence

But when you talk about international art exhibitions, whichand diverse value systems, I recalled that when we heard about theone of the world’s top events. There are two things required of thethat creates a new language of cosmopolitanism and modernity

there are 200 or 300 of worldwide, you feel the pressure to become

Triennale, one being leadership as an international art exhibition,and the other being initiative in terms of community development
and presence in a metaphorical sense. I think these are missions weabsolutely have to take on.

Hoashi | You were talking about the community just now, about“the city and the international exhibition,” but now I would liketo ask what the significance of the Triennale being featured every

three years, including the activities of BankART, might be to artists,

Kochi-Muziris Biennale, there was a statement about “a biennale

rooted in the living experience of Kochi, not as ambiguous conceptual ideas through visual art but as real space,” which I take to meanthat Kochi positions itself as “a biennale that advocates art withreality and purpose,” rather than merely presenting the concept of“coexistence” or other artistic concepts. On that note I would like to
ask Komu-san, how do you currently view the role of art or artists at
Kochi in embedding “coexistence” or “art” into actual society?

Komu | You know, in India we don’t actually have museum spaces

residents, and the audiences who visit from elsewhere.

or institutions which provide opportunities for youngsters who

Ikeda | It’s important to keep the audiences in mind, of course, buthuge responsibility “to educate.” By bringing contemporary practices

I think if you keep people in the community firmly in mind anddo something for their sake, you can communicate effectively withaudience from elsewhere as well. While keeping the big picture, Asia

as a whole, in mind, as well as community and regional issues closer
at hand, if you think about the people around you and maintainthe stance of “let’s improve the community, offer people good food,present art worth seeing, make it a community worth visiting,” thenthe answers to your questions ought to come forth naturally.

Hoashi | Today, thus far we’ve heard various opinions from people

addressing the issues on various levels, but coming back to where we

started, I’d like to ask Osaka-san for her insights into the positioning

aspire to learn about art. So the Biennale also carries with it thefrom across the world, we are actually creating a platform to discuss

issues of social and political relevance of the region and the world.
Kerala is very famous for being a state with 100% literacy and it’sa state which hosts one of the most important film festivals in theworld, the International Film Festival of Kerala. It also hosts theater

festivals. The region has celebrated all the different practices of art.

But, as artist, we have always felt that there is a lack of patronage,a lack of interest among people to collect art, and the absence of asystem that nurtures art practices. So, most artists leave Kerala topractice art elsewhere. I guess this is not just a case in Kerala but also

in other parts of India. Most of the time, people go to cities where
they could sustain their practice.

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61

Hence, art practices have become a very urban-centric phenom-

residencies in Karachi, Pakistan, what the response or reaction ofbitions that would be purely non-commercial, we were revolutionary

such thing as “the general public” in Pakistan. In other words there

enon. That’s why, when we, in Kochi, started talking about art exhi-

in our approach. Also, the geographical positioning of Kochi has
kept it on the receiving end of culture.

So we thought that a project like KMB could actually grow andbecome a center for a new discourse and cultural engagement. In

fact, as I mentioned in the presentation, we have a dream to makeit into a space for conflict resolution, because the time in which we

the general public was, and they replied immediately that there is noare extremely rigid class divisions, depending on the traditional caste
system but also on economic, ethnic, and cultural differences. I waswondering if you were able to lessen the gap or bring the different
classes in the region closer together through the Biennale?

Komu | I think we first attempted to bring the region’s tradition, andlive is very complex. We are especially suffering from issues related

that was to become one of the most prominent democratic spaces.

So we are like a model place to test the ideas of coexistence,

the first edition, we actually wanted to look into specific issues thatto religious fundamentalists.

multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism, and tolerance. These ideas areplaced at the top of our priorities. There is a study that states how

there is always another kind of cosmopolitanism existing parallel tothe general idea of cosmopolitanism, and that’s why cities always
celebrate the otherness in the other. That’s an important aspect tolook at because it amplifies the idea of coexistence.

The liberal characteristics of the region can slowly develop, but fora project like KMB should address. So we selected artists from

Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. We couldn’t include any artist

from Nepal. The idea was to take it one step at a time. We were notinterested in doing just a biennale, and so we planned activities likethe residency program called the Pepper House Residency.

I think the region has to go and integrate because one of theIt also allows us to bring art from a different kind of context, aimportant things we should remember is that we are operating out

ent kind of political space. It becomes a kind of space for experimen-

we had to do was to restore spaces and turn them into spaces ofdifferent kind of content, a different kind of argument and a differtation for a larger context. The noble laureate, Amartya Sen wrote

his book, Argumentative Indian, with a view from Kerala. There isa hierarchy in which interesting comments are accommodated andof a place that has traditionally not had any space for art. Whatinternational-level museum quality. This is currently an ongoingengagement and we will continue with this, apart from the Biennale.
Some of our conversations have been on building architectural

certain sense of understanding is reached.

spaces that have better provisions for accommodating art. I thinkthat’s how we will survive. Otherwise, we could be pulled back andhave invited a new curator, who points to the issues that the Bien-

So in the future KMB will look for experimentation, and I think

our ideas will stagnate. I think the scope of our biennale will be toplay with a range of topics that we would like to deal with. I thinkthat’s where we must stay firm.

International Exhibitions as a Space for Coexistence
Hoashi | Komu-san discussed the KMB as being a free space forconflict resolution and co-existence, a space for experimentation
with solutions to the social and political issues of the time. The

word “coexistence” was discussed in the context of the FT as well,and Kuroda-san, could you talk a bit more about what “coexistence”

we operate from a completely different situation now because wenales always face. The particular KMB would reflect the interest andpolitics of the curator of the current edition.

And as artists, we don’t want to get involved in the curatorial

premise. So, instead, our foundation will be engaged in organizing
forums which will bridge the curatorial premise and the mission

statement. For the coming KMB, we are putting emphasis on semi-nars and talks which will enable us to enter into a broader discourse,
not just on art. The series is titled “History Now.” It will also havedifferent forums like “Media Now” and “Trade Now.” We will also
address the maritime history which we’ve all dealt with.

So, what I am saying is that our Biennale is also a forum. That’smeans to you and also about how you feel you relate to Asia as

the reason why I showed Jonas Staal, which became a huge contro-

Yokohama Triennale we’ve been focusing on the theme of Asia, buthave an artist like Jonas Staal? Jonas Staal did a new and interesting

someone who has been involved with it for many years? Here at thediscussing it as a whole without zeroing in on specific countries andregions, and I’m wondering what your engagement with Asia, as aset of real, actual places, in Japan, has been like. I’m sorry for asking
such a broad question.

Kuroda | First, can I ask Komu-san a question?

One thing I find astonishing about the KMB is that India actu-

versy in KMB. I mean, if we are standing as a liberal space, why notproject and the project actually reflected what the Biennale stands

for. This project aimed to invite representatives from organizations

which do not have democratic voices, organizations that are banned,or, in some cases, organizations that are, in fact, terrorist-oriented.
We took a decision to invite them because we wanted them in theliberal space to have their voices heard.

As mentioned earlier, the project became problematic with theally has a very strong commercial gallery sector, and among theGovernment of Kerala, and we had to black-out some of the flags.

ful painters who can easily sell their paintings for 5 million Japanese

which are in conflict, which are suffering, which do not have demo-

works we saw in the presentation earlier, there were a lot of successyen a piece.

Another thing is that in India, and in Pakistan and Nepal aswell, I think there is a very clear segmentation of culture according

to social class. I have asked people before, people who had done62

As a country, we are located next to some of the important countries
cratic voices, and we feel that Kochi can become a space for theirartist to come and engage. That’s one reason we wanted Jonas Staal
project so that we start with a statement.

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Hoashi | Komu-san, I think you are talking more about creating a

artists?”

like Pakistan and Afghanistan can be heard, rather than specificallyContinuity, Presentation, and the Future of Yokohama Triennale

Developing that further, in Cuba the Havana Biennial was also a

Osaka | Like González-san said about Havana, I should mention

tially meant the Third World, primarily Latin America, Africa, andartists, and to be a forum where they reach a wider audience than atspace in Kochi where the voices of usually voiceless persons in places
about bridging class divisions as Kuroda-san was asking about.

place where voices that are usually unheard could be heard. This ini-

Asia, and was later expanded to include artists and works of art thatusually go unseen or unacknowledged in the First World or powerthat the Yokohama Triennale is intended to promote young Japaneseordinary exhibitions.

At the same time, we have to think about the continuity ofcenters, which you have consistently exhibited. This year you had no

our activities. . In Japan, just this year, we have Sapporo, Fukuoka,

across the entire community. Could you help us understand a bit

Ichihara, Funasaka, and many others. However, it is no easy task tocentral theme and no core venue, but rather an event that spread

more about the Havana Biennial and how you position yourselves in
the global context of biennales, historically, politically, and socially?

González | As mentioned in the presentation, Havana Biennial ispart of the art scene where all the proposals by emerging artists are

Kobe and Yokohama, which we’ve talked about, as well as Kunisaki,
continue with staging these, edition after edition. Nonetheless it is

crucial, and as expressed in the proverb “Perseverance is strength,” itis through perseverance on a long-term basis that we start to wield
influence equal to the effort we put forth.

In the case of the FT, I believe it has been able to continue due

made. And we looked to those artists who at that moment didn’t

to solid relationships with Asian artists in Fukuoka and with Asia

For instance, each of our curators is in charge of a specific geo-

history of Yokohama, it is a city that developed after the opening of

have visibility in the different events around the world.

graphic area. From the early stages, the curators have gone to thecountries to do a research to gain knowledge about the artist andmaintain a network with different art centers and galleries. Throughthe research, curators would find important artists who may havebeen ignored from the important events around the world. In thefirst three editions, the artists who were showing had their firstinternational biennale experience through Havana. Some of them
have become very important and become part of the mainstream.

itself that it’s been building since the 1970s. When I think about theits port, and its history runs parallel to that of Japan’s modernization.
Before the port opened it was just a sleepy fishing village of about

100 households. This connects with what we were talking about

before, about accepting different cultures, unfamiliar value systems,
and new ways of thinking, and continuing to function as a window
to that world. I believe this is part of what Yokohama should always
be about.

Yokohama is geographically very close to Tokyo, we are part ofI think that one of the most important ideas of the Havana Bien-the greater Tokyo metropolitan region, and we are an international

and the students and connect like a “biennale chain.” We would

should be an international launch pad for information and for pro-nial is to share the experience with the public, the critics, the artists,
work with different ideas but never forget our initial policy.

Our Biennial is an opportunity to introduce new Cuban artists,

and in some cases, they would be graduates of the academy.

International critics and curators who come to our Biennial

would be able to see Cuban artists and introduce them through theirshows in other parts of the world.

Our Biennial is very important also for the artists in Latin

America and the Caribbean. There are several biennales in theregion, the Sao Paulo Biennial, which was found in 1951 also in

the Caribbean, Columbia, Chile, and Uruguay, which is organizing
a new one. Havana will continue to support artists of our region to
gain visibility and also for them to exchange with the rest of theworld.

Hoashi | So, I understand that in Havana you turn the spotlight on

artists who have not had much visibility thus far, including Cuban

artists and emerging artists. This was one of your initial missions,and it is still continuing.

I would like to turn this discussion back to Osaka-san for the

next question: “I believe offering international visibility is a part ofwhat the Yokohama Triennale is expected to do as well, but what

is your perspective on Yokohama’s role in providing international

visibility, especially in the context of what Kuroda-san spoke about
earlier, about serving as an international launch pad for Japaneseport city. When we think about that history, it seems obvious that wevide a platform for artists. But to take a long-term perspective, society is so fluid that establishing and maintaining what you see as an

ideal situation is very challenging. However, amid these challenges,
continuing to disseminate awareness about art, and in particular newart, is something that must be carried out persistently by those of us

in a position to do so. In addition to the Yokohama Museum of Art,
we also have NPOs, local artists and the other biennale and triennale
organizations that we hope we can partner with as we continue toexplore what is the most appropriate for Yokohama. Continuing to

explore, and continuing to take on challenges — I believe this iswhat we need to do.

Hoashi | Speaking of continuity, Ikeda-san has been involved with

the Josen-Korean Diplomatic Expeditions project and other longterm international exchange projects. We have talked about various

regions of the world thus far, and one thing that’s emerged is theidea of interacting with people in the real world, face to face. In
the Korean project, you have selected a format where you’re travel-

ing and convening symposia. In implementing a project like this,what kind of perceptions have you gained about how this kind of
exchange can be developed into international networks? Even if it

hasn’t developed into a network as such, do you feel that it is functioning as a valid mode of exchange?

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63

Ikeda | I’m not sure yet, but what I’ve decided to do is to keep on

Kuroda | Just a comment on what has been said. In Japan, in Yoko-

repeating and repeating what we’re doing. This is partly modeled onhama or Fukuoka for instance, I don’t think we need to do the samethe monk Kukai or rather of his disciples who popularized it. Any-Japan showing global art.

the 88-temple pilgrimage circuit in Shikoku, which is the legacy of
one can do the pilgrimage circuit, and even today tens of thousands

thing. I mean if there is no need for so many different exhibitions in
The São Paulo Biennial is one that has been around for a longof people every year do it, but what they’re actually doing is quitetime, and one distinctive thing about it is that São Paulo is geo-

ings of esoteric Shingon Buddhism. However, there is a human andBiennale fulfills an important function by showing art from arounddifficult to comprehend because the 88 temples represent the teach-urban infrastructure that supports the people making the pilgrimage. For example, people leave snacks and soft drinks on the roadsidefor people who are traveling economically, students and so forth, or

let them stay at their houses free of charge. On the other hand, when

wealthy people make the circuit, there are people there to makemoney by accommodating them in luxurious inns at high prices. The
pilgrims generate communities, which I call “traveling cities,” andour project — which is titled A Contemporary Sequel for the Joseon

Korean Diplomatic Expeditions — fits into this mold. Rather thansaying “been there, done that,” it’s based on intentionally revisiting

the same places over and over. Retracing steps over and over, in an
endeavor that we hope will gradually spread throughout the entirety

graphically very far removed from any other major cities, and thethe world to audiences there that wouldn’t normally get to see it.
Especially if there are no other exhibitions like this in Brazil or

elsewhere in South America, then this is a very important function.
However, if there are other events in Brazil – which is, I’ll admit, avery large country – doing the same thing, then what each of themis doing becomes less necessary, it becomes somewhat redundant. I

imagine that with the Havana Biennial, you felt that if there are noother large-scale international art shows in the Caribbean, then the
Havana Biennial ought to go on functioning as a venue for art fromaround the globe.

Hoashi | I have some questions from the audience, a question forof East Asia.

Kuroda-san. Physically and digitally the rest of Asia has become

Hoashi | I see, so the idea is something like, “If I am invited, thennational exhibitions to present artists from elsewhere in Asia? By

I can invite in return, and if I am invited again I will go again.” Or,rather than trying to visit as many new places as possible, repeatedly

going to the same places, deepening relationships and making wider
connections.

Now I would like to know if the panelists have any questions for

one another.

Kuroda | I have a question for González-san. At the Havana Bien-

nial, you started by focusing on Havana itself, or on Latin America,
in other words developing countries, but now you’re also showing other artists, aren’t you? As you spoke about the importanceof maintaining the original spirit and the original mission, I waswondering about your position. Do you still believe it is particularly

important to focus on Cuban and Latin American artists and others from developing countries, is there any change? If there is any
change, could you tell us more about why it changed and how?

González | We are starting to open ourselves up to different regions.

Therefore, we have had artists from the United States, Europe andother parts of the world in the recent editions. I think that we should

maintain our original idea but also open to other ideas, because thecloser to Japan. So what is the significance of having these intermaintaining this consistent theme, what is it about Asia and its art
that you are seeking to present?

Kuroda | Well, the short answer is that I think we’ve just become

relatively closer, but what can be conveyed physically and digitally

across the distance is still extremely limited. And what end up being

conveyed are only things that benefit Japan economically or otherwise, and all sorts of other aspects of Asian culture never reach Japanat all. For that reason I believe the day when showing Asian art inJapan becomes unnecessary will never come.*
Hoashi | Thank you very much.
Ikeda | I think we should have some more discussion focused on

the Yokohama Triennale, since we have scarcely discussed it yet. So
I think we should refocus on our discussion, and perhaps take up
these questions later.

The Mission pf Yokohama Triennale and Future Prospects
Hoashi | I agree. Well, going back to the Yokohama Triennale, there’s

world is not just Latin America and the Caribbean. Of course,

a contrast with Havana, where there is a clearly defined mission, as

and learn about those artists in the region we have not shown, foras well, got started with a very clear-cut mission. In the case of thethis means that we have to establish relationships with the others
example those from Asia and Europe.

We will continue to set our priorities on artists from Cuba,

Latin America, and Africa, but we will also open ourselves up to, forexample, based on proposals from curator around the world.

Hoashi | Thank you. Are there any other questions you may want to

ask among yourselvess?

does the newly launched KMB. The Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale,
Yokohama Triennale, when you say “international” you’re talking not
only about Asia, but also the rest of the world. So you are looking

at a wider geographic area, and a wider range of possibilities forconnecting with other cultures.

So I have a question for Ikeda-san and also for Yamano-san.

Yamano-san, you were talking earlier about a format where theentire city becomes a venue, but in terms of the actual mission of* Note from Kuroda: What I should have answered to this question in the following way. “If you have seen the FT5 and still feel like you haven’t seen anything that you hadn’t already seen on the Internet or at otherexhibitions, then you should ask this question.’’64

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the Yokohama Triennale, how do you see it from the vantage point

Hoashi | Osaka-san, what do you say to that?

involved for a long time with Yokohama as a community?

Osaka | Naturally there are going to be differences between a bien-

Yamano | Speaking from Koganecho’s perspective; well, I’ve beencity of a couple hundred thousand. In terms of the budget required,of Kogane-cho? Or how do you see it as someone who has been

involved with the Triennale since 2005, so this is the fourth time.
Unfortunately, I think it’s becoming more and more a readymade
event, following the pattern of “bringing existing works of art, etc. to

Yokohama and exhibiting them,” and not something that provides

an opportunity to see something new, or introducing new, emerging
artists. I’m also very concerned about the fact that not many artists

are being invited to stay in Yokohama and create work here on site,nale or triennale held in a city of 3.7 million, and one held in aof course, but also because it’s easier for a small city to display its

distinctive characteristics. Yokohama is currently the second largest

city in Japan, following Tokyo, which has a population of 12 million.
That’s a large gap, but even in a city of 3.7 million people it’s no easytask to continue holding an event of this scale every three years andtrying to move it closer to what it ideally ought to be.

The Yokohama Museum of Art obviously has various exhibitions

and I think that things need to move in that direction or else thelined up before and after the Triennale. We have to think about thejust taking up bits and pieces of what has been successful at otherhappening next year, the year after and the year after that, and we

Triennale is going to lose its uniquely Yokohama character, and bebiennales and triennales. That’s just how it strikes me, of course. So

that’s my concern. That it’s turning into something that doesn’t haveto be done in Yokohama, it could be done anywhere else.

Ikeda | A little while ago I was very happy to hear some commentsfrom Osaka-san. Personally I’m a big fan of the Yokohama Triennale, and I think it absolutely needs to continue.

However, there are various ways of doing that, there are a rangeof problems and a lot that needs to be done on the secretariat side,
but first I think you have remind yourself that the population of

Yokohama is 3.7 million. If you look at the sites of other, world-

exhibition that’s going to run after the Triennale ends, about what’s
have to do this in parallel with the activities involving the Triennale. There are other museums that are doing something similar, forexample the one in Lyon, France, but I gather they have a full-timebiennale team that organizes their biennale. For the Yokohama Tri-

ennale, as well, we need a dedicated team that plans and prepares for
the Triennale, which is separate from the curators and others that

handle the usual museum affairs. If we have a team like that, andcould maintain a permanent secretariat, organizing the Triennale

and holding meetings with Yokohama NPOs and other contacts, wewill be able to have a Triennale that is unique to Yokohama.

Currently, for example, even if we want to do an artist-in-

famous art shows, whether its Kassel or Venice, the population isresidence program, we don’t have the facilities, so we would haveposition of international leadership, what they do has an impact that

accommodate the artists. If that can be done then, eventually, it will

small, it’s only about 300 thousand or so. Nonetheless, they are in a

determines trends throughout the entire art world. In terms of thesize of the city, Yokohama is about 10 times larger and yet, I’d liketo point out to representatives of the municipal government who arehere today, the budget is extremely small. It absolutely ought to be
increased, and things really ought to be done properly.

Presenting work by emerging artists is necessary, and so is being

to rely on BankART or Kogane-cho Area Management Center tobe possible for the artist to exhibit at the museum in the Trien-nale. In that sense we are trying not to have one organization doing
everything single-handedly, but rather to create a circle together. I

believe creating this kind of circulating back-and-forth relationshipcan further boost the appeal of the Yokohama Triennale.

There are various issues that still need to be resolved from an

educational and enlightening, which I think Morimura-san hasorganizational standpoint. We have now held the Triennale twice, inartists, and there is nothing wrong with showing older artists as

the venues, and things are starting to take shape, but we can’t reachbeen very successful in doing. It’s important to show work by great
well. That’s because Japan as a country is so far behind the curve, it’spractically impossible to see a collection of work from overseas fromthe past few decades. Where in Japan can you see a decent collectionof contemporary art from the last 30 years? How about collection ofJapanese artists who have been active from the 1980s onward? The

2011 and this year, 2014, in our museum, being designated as one ofdefinite conclusions after just one or two editions. We need to beconstructive and practical, and we have to try to improve on what we
do each time, with our eyes on the sixth edition.

Hoashi | Just now you spoke about Kogane-cho and BankART,

answer is, you can’t. That’s why we have to use opportunities like

about working with them and tapping their respective strengths andgoing on in the world and what major Japanese contemporary artists

you continue your partnership with the Yokohama Triennale, what

this Triennale, give it a proper budget, and show people both what’s
are doing. It could lead to the creation of more permanent collections of contemporary art, and so I fully support what the Yokohama

Triennale is doing in that regard. However, I think it’s really lagging
behind in terms of budget and structure, behind where it should becapabilities. So I would like to ask these two organizations, assuming
specific roles do you think you will play, or do you have any proposals
for new and different things you could do?

Ikeda | Well, despite being a big fan and supporter of the Trien-at this stage, 12 years and five editions since it started. Everyone

nale… I think I previously asked Osaka-san about this, but I am

rev up the engine, or otherwise it’s just going to end up being justin the museum, and while I think that holding it there once or twice

involved, including Yokohama residents, needs to get behind it andanother biennale or triennale, an also-ran.

fundamentally against the idea of having Yokohama Triennale here

can’t be helped, I’d like you to share your honest opinion with us
about whether you think it’s acceptable to keep doing it the same

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65

way in the same place.

est cutting-edge contemporary art, and that’s a good thing. I am not

Osaka | I have to say that having an international exhibition likeit be one of the venues is a major benefit to the entire Triennale.

the Yokohama Triennale here at the museum does benefit us. At thesame time, if we could do the Triennale in a permanent Triennale

saying that the museum should be the only venue, but I think having

Yamano | I’ve been talking for some time about the idea of thevenue outside of the museum, there would be advantages to thatmuseum as a secondary or subsidiary venue, with a main venue else-

there’re staffs that work just on the Biennale, there is a special venue

heard, need to have certain security criteria met. And also, perhaps

as well. In the case of Gwangju, there is a dedicated foundation,
just for the Biennale, and they are getting their message out internationally in various proactive ways. If there’s something the museum
needs to change, it’s that we need to form a full-time team. And thenideally we would have a dedicated Triennale building and organizations somewhere near the museum, and then during the Triennale

the museum could hold a separate exhibition that was coordinatedwith the Triennale theme. That might be the ideal format.

where. The museum would be dedicated to those works that, as weit’s a good idea to think about the Triennale organizing committee
office being taken outside of the museum because having it within

the museum actually has been creating an enormous number ofrestrictions. So if the museum curators are going to be a part of the

Triennale team, perhaps they could be dispatched, on loan to outsideorganizations for two or three years.

Ikeda | Well, if I start responding to Kuroda-san, then our discussion

Ikeda | I wonder why you don’t come forward with a proposal likewill be moving to issues on museums, which is not one the agenda

ought to be headed. I think there’s no problem with this kind of

museum people talking about this subject, the suggestions would bethat. I think it’s been obvious for a long time that that’s where things

proposal, and I think you need something like a satellite. After all,it’s been 30 years since the Yokohama Museum of Art opened, or isit 30 years since the idea was advanced?

Osaka | It’s been 25 years since we opened the museum.
Ikeda | Over those 25 years, there’s been a population increase of

more than one million. If you have an extra one million of citizens,that’s a good enough reason to build another museum. But Yoko-

today, so I would like to keep my response short, but when you get
for the museum not to change, and that one won’t be able to change
the Museum Law which have been installed for decades. I believe
we should make changes to how things are done at museums, andcreate new formats that coexist alongside them as well. Personally I
don’t understand why someone with a radical bent like Mr. Kuroda

would toe the party line like that. Well, I suppose there’s no point incontinuing this line of discussion today.

Osaka | When you talk about building one more museum, you needhama has not built a single new museum since this one, even thougha tremendous amount of money, and an enormous number of people

that new development, it could be a satellite or it could be an entirely

we should really have a clear-headed rational discussion about theit seems called for. So I think the Triennale should be a trigger for

independent new museum. I think now is the time when you should
be working to propel that momentum forward. Rather than hesitating and saying you’re not sure what the right path is to take, I’d liketo hear your actual thoughts on this.

Osaka | When I think about reality, about what’s possible, what’s

achievable, and what will have the most positive impact on the cur-rent situation, of course I’d like to forge full speed ahead in the best
possible direction, but since the current situation is not that simple

and rather complex, I think it’s important to have multiple choicesof possibilities in mind and prioritize them.

Kuroda | As a fellow museum professional, I’d like to step in on

Osaka-san’s side here. It is true that as Ikeda-san mentioned earlier,there are few opportunities to see contemporary art, of historicalimportance, including Japanese ones, in Japan.

However, whether you’re talking about Japanese art or art fromoverseas, you need museum level facilities and security if you’re

doing all sorts of things in order to support a museum. So I think

best and most realistic course of action. At the same time, I thinkit’s a reflection of the extremely high expectations surrounding the
Yokohama Triennale. I do feel that the Triennale offers all sorts ofterrific benefits, and while it is creating some tasks that are very chal-lenging, at the same time Yokohama is one of the few cities in Japanlarge enough to stage this kind of event, and I believe it’s a city with
an amazing amount of potential.

Hoashi | We haven’t got a conclusion, we haven’t clearly streamlined

the issues, and we haven’t got a vision for the future yet, but one
proposal from Ikeda-san was the possibility of creating a secretariat body, a venue, a building, or an organization separate from themuseum. The other proposal was to fulfill the conventional role ofthe museum while also seeking to disseminate art more widely. We
need to question whether or not these two proposals can coexist, or

whether they are mutually exclusive and should be handled separately. We seem to be faced with question that cannot be answered.

Now, we would like to take questions from the floor. I would likegoing to borrow and exhibit those works of historic importance. At

to address a question about site-specific work or creating work at thefrom overseas museums. In that sense it is important for museums,

the risk of being work tailor-made for the Triennale? In other words,

Shinko Pier, in fact, we can’t show works that have been borrowed
or institutions with comparable facilities and organizational capability, to be a part of the Triennale, because it enables us to exhibit awider range of works including those that are not necessarily the lat66

Triennale site. “When artists create work on-site, doesn’t that run

isn’t art created on site, at an event such as this one, just made forthat event alone and divorced from both the context of art history

and the context of the community?” Does anyone have an answer toPart 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

this question?

judged, and is put out into a public space for the first time. There is

Komu | I think from the experience of the last Biennale, I wouldfeaturing work for which there is no consensus yet about its value?”

like to reassert that most of the time artists who are interested to

be engaged in a project like ours are looking for an opportunity toanother question, “What do you think of biennales and triennales
and I’d like to ask Osaka-san to address that.

create something new. 73% of the works of KMB 2012 was createdOsaka | At the museum, we sometimes have international group

I would like to get back to the question that I missed answering

presenting work by artists from various countries at an ordinary

on site.

earlier, about the class system. What we do at KMB is to allow art-

ists to be complimented but also enable audience to see their works.

exhibitions, not at the scale of biennales or triennales, but simply
scale.

However, getting artists to produce new work is no easy process,The people get to see how art is produced while the artist works forand in this sense large-scale exhibitions like our Triennale are an

public that art is an elitist exercise and a very high-profile commod-

lished reputations overseas, show their new work. This is something

six to seven months. This experience breaks the notion among theity. Getting to see the production of art becomes an important wayof engagement with the audience. The people got to see art being
executed in a temporal space and I think the artists too have enjoyedthis experience.

I would also like to add to the discussion on museums and them

being a venue for the biennale or triennale. Museum-like spaces, ora climate-controlled space, could accommodate art that was createdimportant opportunity to have artists, even those with well-estabwe have to do, or at least we have to make an environment conducive
to it.

However, in many cases, for the audience new work is somethingthat creates joy, encounters like these are part of what people like to
see in a biennale or triennale.

Hoashi | A new work is also a major part of the art fair phenomenon,as part of the Biennale, therefore, very temporary and experimental,

and my observation is that in Asia these days, many new works makecase, KMB could become a catalyst for creating museums. This isnales, art fairs, and museums could be the next topic for discussion.

but have culminated into something of a global standard. So, in our

one of the discussions we are having right at this moment in Kochi.

their debut at art fairs. I think the roles among biennales and trienBut let me bring the focus back to the Yokohama Triennale one

How can we create museums out of our Biennale exercise?

more time, I have another question for Ikeda-san regarding thehave about contemporary art practices. What we did in Kochi wasthat it is insufficient as a venue for the Triennale, or do you feel that

This thinking is very much linked to breaking the notion people

to break the perceptions people had about art being solely related
to money. This broke the class notion as a result. So I feel it is very
important that art is made on site because then the community getsto engage with the artists at work on site. The artists also get to

Shinko Pier, which is referred to as the second venue. Do you think

it is sufficient as a provisional venue and that there should be morevenues like this one?

Ikeda | Well I don’t feel that it’s insufficient. I mean a venue could beresearch Kochi which already has a history of 16 different communi-on the sea, on top of a mountain, or in a trash heap, but the moment

We had an artist who carried out a research for almost three

how you want to present it, or deliberately not present it as the caseties living together.

months during which he integrated with the community. The com-munity not only got to know how art is produced, but they also
got to see the art there. Several of such projects actually made thecommunities proud. These experiences should eventually culminate
into making spaces like a museum because museums would provide

a permanent space for the works. I think we should always have aprovision for the artist to produce their works on site. It should not
be such a complex thing because wherever the artists produce theirworks is where their studio would be.

It is now possible to accommodate and exercise on-site produc-tion. This helps to build new narratives. The aspirations to build

it’s chosen as a venue, that means that it’s sufficient. It depends on

may be. Whether or not it’s suitable for the Triennale I’m not sure,but in any case questions about ventilation or air conditioning areof no interest whatsoever to me, since once you start to think about
whether or not one could exhibit works outdoors. Then the next
thing will be to say that projects in a vacant lot are not good, so forthand so on. I don’t think about these issues so much.

Obviously it depends on the work, and if you think about thevariety of different works, it’s only natural to secure a place that hasproper humidity and temperature control. But just because it doesn’t,
it doesn’t mean that it is unsuitable as an exhibition site.

something new should be the contribution of the biennale or trien-

Hoashi | Osaka-san, what do you think of that?

there is 100% possibility that the work is going to be something

Osaka | I believe the possibilities for exhibiting works should be as

nale. The moment you ask an artist to create something site-specific,
new. In this sense, the biennale could become the generator of ideas.
Hoashi | About site-specific work, or about newly created work,

which was how the person who asked the question actually phrased
it — most of the newly created work at a biennale or triennale issite-specific, made in the context of the place where it will be exhib-

ited. At the same time it is work that has not yet been evaluated or

broad as possible. Even at a contemporary art festival, I don’t think

we should limit ourselves to just showing works by living artists.
There could be cases where it is necessary to show works by those

who are already deceased. And when you borrow works from private

collectors or museums, etc., you have to think about the preservationof the work and the condition of the gallery becomes an essential
criterion. So I think it depends on the case.

Part 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

67

Hoashi | Thank you very much. We’ve received many similar ques-

the Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale, which is com-Please raise your hand if you feel that you have a question that

It consists of members from the Yokohama municipal government,

tions, but are there any questions that have not been answered?

has not been answered yet, or issues that you feel have not beenaddressed.

Question from Audience 1 | Kuroda-san, you were referring to thepolicy for selecting artists at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, and I

thought it was very interesting. At the Yokohama Triennale, what isyour selection policy?

Osaka | At the Yokohama Triennale, we appoint an artistic director,

pletely separate from the planning of exhibitions at the museum.
the Yokohama Arts Foundation, and recently, the museum. The
dedicated Triennale staff is working on a temporary basis, and it
is a team effort, totally different from what they do at the Fukuoka
Asian Art Triennale.

For this reason, the style of organizing exhibitions at the Fukuoka

Asian Art Museum actually might be more flexible and responsive
to circumstances. What do you think?

Kuroda | That might be true, but of course we’re much smaller. And

who, in principle, takes charge in deciding on the curatorial direction

most people probably don’t have any interest in this whatsoever, but

as the artistic director. He decided to form a team of who we calland making sure the right people hear about something beforehand,of the entire Triennale. This time Morimura Yasumasa was chosen“associates,” which include curators at the Yokohama Museum ofArt, to nominate artists before he made the final decision.

Question from Audience 2 | Were the Kogane-cho and BankART

artists chosen by the individual organizations, or were they chosen
as part of the Yokohama Triennale selection?

Yamano | Our selection has nothing whatsoever to do with theselection of artists for Yokohama Triennale. What we do is we havean open call, like a public competition. We ask people if they’reinterested in showing. Also there are artist collectives from various
countries, and there are people acting as curators or directors of

issues like decision-making authority, sounding out the right people,
are a lot easier because our organization is small.

But it also means our situation is very different from that of

Yokohama, Aichi, probably Sapporo as well, where they have thesecretariat headquartered in government offices, and prefecturaland municipal governments are in a leadership role, and that makes

things run with a higher impact from an organizational standpoint.
They also have the kind of budget we could only dream about.
Whatever the scale of the exhibition, we have to do it all within ourorganization. This time, we had funding from the municipal government to hire a person dedicated to doing public relations.

Hoashi | Thank you. I’d like thank everyone who came from far

alternative spaces, who provide us with a few recommendations,away: González-san who traveled for two days to come all the way

We used this approach this time as well. This time we had Makiko

here; Kuroda-san from Fukuoka, who have provided us great sup-usually about three artists each and we choose from among them.
Hara as a guest curator, and she basically made the decisions.

Ikeda | The same goes for us. By the way, I think it’s good that we’retalking about basic issues like these during this discussion, and I

from Havana; Komu-san who traveled a full day from Kochi to comeport in the exhibition; and finally, for our two wonderful colleagues
who have been working with us here in Yokohama, Ikeda-san andYamano-san, and Osaka-san. Please give a big round of applause.

hope we continue to do so in the future. When we talk about the

Yokohama Triennale, it’s always “the Triennale, which we are alsoaffiliated with,” and this is true in the sense that we have tie-up
tickets that allow admission to our venues in addition to the Tri-

ennale, and we hold events concurrently, but the organizations arecompletely separate and unrelated. We scarcely collaborate on con-cepts, and have completely separate budgets. We synchronize theschedules, we have the tei-up tickets, and we manage to get along

pretty well despite the differences between us. It’s like a big depart-

ment store and a small neighborhood greengrocer working together,and it really is kind of odd sometimes.

We’ve been here in Yokohama for 10 years, but of course the

Yokohama Triennale and the Yokohama Museum of Art werearound before that, and at first they seemed very distant from us,
but I feel we are finally getting closer, our relations are thawing out.

Osaka | I believe the organizational body that runs the Yokohama

Triennale is something that isn’t visible to the public eye, but inYokohama’s case the museum is not doing this on its own. The
approach is totally different from the way usual format for exhibi-

tions at the Yokohama Museum of Art are approached. We have
68

Part 2 [Panel Discussion] Thinking Together in Yokohama: Creating Global / Regional Landscape for Contemporary Art through International Exhibitions

Panelist Profile

Margarita González=Lorente

Ikeda Osamu

Vice Director, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam

Director of BankART1929 / Representative of PH Studio

Born in Havana City, Cuba. After having worked as art ex-

Ikeda Osamu is one of the founding members of a unit

pert in Visual Art and Design Direction in the Culture Ministry,comprised of art and architecture named PH Studio, giving a

in Centre of Development of Visual Arts, Margarita González

focus on the motto of “to live in the city”. He has organized

Lorente was elected as a directive member in 1999 and as-

numerous exhibitions in the museums, and outdoor art

sumed present position from 2005. She has been working as

projects as well as designing the architectures. From 1986

curator of Cuban artists in the exhibitions held in England,through 1991, he worked as the Hillside Gallery’s director.

México, Russia, China, France, Ecuador, Venezuela, etc. andSince 2004, when he started to run BankART1929, he has

has been taking part in the organization and development of

curated many exhibitions and art projects, organized support

Havana Biennial intermittently from 1984. She was artistic

programs for artists and published books and other media.

subdirectrice and curator of Tenth and Eleventh Havana Bien-

Also he is a frequent lecturer on urban planning and the arts

nial (2009, 2012).

in universities and governmental offices.

Riyas Komu

Yamano Shingo

Co-founder of the Kochi Biennale Foundation /Director, Koganecho Area Management Center /Director of Programmes, Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2014

Director, Koganecho Bazaar

Born in Kerala, India. Riyas Komu is a multi-media artist andBorn in 1950 in Fukuoka. Yamano Shingo graduated froman activist working towards developing the art infrastructure inetching department of Bigakko art school in 1971. In the

India. His works which include those that focus specially on the

1970’ s, he began to work as an artist based in Fukuoka, andpolitical and cultural history of Kerala have been exhibited exten-

produced exhibitions while presiding over IAF Art Laboratory.

sively in India and abroad. In 2007, he was one of two artists from

From 1990, he started to produce “Museum City Tenjin”, an

India to be selected by curator Robert Storr for the 52nd Veniceart exhibition held around the city. Since, he has organized

Biennale. He has shown in Biennale Jogja and most recently atmany exhibitions and workshops that consider relationship

Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel and the Centre Pompidou, Paris,

between art and the city. He was one of the curators ofas part of their “Paris-Delhi-Bombay” exhibition.

Yokohama Triennale 2005. He is the director of Koganecho
Area Management Center since 2009.

Kuroda Raiji

Osaka Eriko

Chief Curator, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum /Director, Yokohama Museum of Art /Artistic Director, FT5

Chairperson, Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale

Kuroda Raiji has researched and organized, while working

Born in Tokyo, received B.F.A. from Gakushuin University.

at Fukuoka Art Museum (1985-99) and Fukuoka Asian Art

She has organized and curated many international exhibitions

Museum (1999-present), the first retrospectives of Kyushu-

of contemporary art while at the Japan Foundation and ICA,ha (1988), Neo Dada (1993), and Collective Kumo (1997),

Nagoya. She worked at the Contemporary Art Center, Art

and the solo exhibition of Rasheed Araeen (1993), Lee BulTower Mito as senior curator (1994-1997) and artistic director(2001), Lionel Wendt (2003), and Long Jinsan (2011). He(1997-2006) and Mori Art Museum as artistic director (2007-

also co-curated The 1st Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale 19992009), before assuming her position as director of Yokohama(FT1), FT2 (2002), FT3 (2005), FT4 (2009) and FT5 (2014).

Art Museum in 2009. She has numerous experiences in work-

He served as commissioner of the Japanese section for The

ing for international exhibition, as co-curator for the Japan

5th and 7th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh (1991, 1995). He

section of the 3rd Asian Pacific Triennial (1999), commissioner

will soon publish Behind the Globalism: Sketches of Asianfor the Japan Pavilion in the 49th Venice Biennale (2001), andContemporary Art 2009-2014, collection of his short essays,

director general of the 4th edition of Yokohama Triennalefrom grambooks, Tokyo.

(2011).

Panelist Profile

69

Audience Feedback[No. of Audience] 104[No. of Collected Surveys] 43[Sex] M: 15 | F: 26 | N/A: 2[Age] Under 19: 1 | 20s: 13 | 30s: 11 | 40s: 10 | 50s: 5 | 60s: 1 | Unanswered: 2[Location of Residency] Yokohama City: 14 | Kanagawa Prefecture: 5 | Tokyo: 13 | Other Areas of Japan: 8 | Overseas: 1
Comments on Program Content· I found it very useful. I learned about the situation in India and Cuba.
· I was very pleased to learn so much about the circumstances of international exhibitions abroad. I hope you will
introduce case studies of other foreign biennales and triennales in the future.
· It seemed like there was a need to divide the discussion about international exhibitions into two parts: content anddifferences in management and organization. I also wanted to know more about the relationship between social issues
and art.
· It was interesting to listen to a discussion about the missions and systems behind biennales and triennales. After
listening to comparisons of these events throughout the world, I think there is much more in terms of the standing andplanning prospects for the Yokohama Triennale in the future. I think it might have also been interesting to have somemore abstract discussions related to things like aesthetics and culture and representation theory.
· Maybe it is about time the Yokohama Museum of Art curators and the NPO representatives discuss the direction of the
Yokohama Triennale amongst themselves. There seemed to be a gap between the explanation about the situation in
Havana and Kochi, and the current circumstances of the Yokohama Triennale.
· If there had been a diagram about the management of the Yokohama Triennale, it would have been easier to follow thesecond half of the discussion.
· I was excited by what Mr. Ikeda and Mr. Yamano said about the prospect of artists from AIR in Kogane-cho being able
to participate in international exhibitions in the future. That’s fantastic, and I also felt kind of envious that Yokohama Cityis giving thought to long-term community development. From the standpoint of someone working in the government, it
seemed like a case of the grass being so much greener that I wish Yokohama could provide a lecture about the system
to people in the regional government. I think there’s a belief that simply holding an international exhibition will regenerate
towns and communities. I wish you could explain your strategy to government workers.
Overall Expectations for the Yokohama Triennale· It functions as a form of community development and citizen exchange.
· I would like to see an exhibit that draws not only on Minato Mirai but also on Yokohama’s rich sightseeing resources in
Yokohama Triennale as well as artists-in-residency programs.
· I’m anticipating the development of a program with content that makes the most of the city of Yokohama’s special
features and emphasizes the connection between art and community development.
· I think it’s important to make a statement clearly saying why it is necessary to hold the Triennale in Yokohama. Just likesmall and middle-sized companies and large corporations, I see Yokohama as being burdened with the role that should
be taken by Tokyo. The only way to break out of this situation is to emphasize Yokohama’s special qualities.
· I want to see more new things. It would be better if there were more of new works that could be shown at the Triennale.
The exhibition at the Yokohama Museum of Art seemed somewhat lacking in freshness and boldness.
· If this is meant to be part of community development as a whole, then I think there is a need to consider how to attract
ordinary people. I would like to see the Yokohama Museum of Art spearhead this kind of effort (it’s clear that the museum
world attract people).
· I anticipate the kind of content you’d find in a museum exhibition – the kind of triennale that is possible exactly because
it was organized by the museum.
· I agreed with Mr. Ikeda’s idea about setting up the organization as an independent body.
· Continuance and enhancement.
· In Yokohama Triennale 2014, I was very pleased to see the links to Fukuoka Asian Art Museum and links to regional
international exhibitions. Even if I’m too busy to go, I hope that Yokohama functions as a hub for international exhibitions,and that it will continue to attract attention from all over the world.
· I am looking forward to the Yokohama Triennale becoming an international exhibition that Japan can be proud of.

70

Audience Feedback

Yokohama Triennale 2014
International Symposium

Thinking Together“Creating Global /Regional Landscapefor Contemporary Art
through International
Exhibitions”
Reportヨコハマトリエンナーレ2014 国際シンポジウム

国際展で考える「現代アートと世界／地域との関係」
記録集

発行日： 2015 年 3 月 31 日
編集・発行： 横浜トリエンナーレ組織委員会〒 220-0012 横浜市西区みなとみらい 3-4-1 横浜美術館内
クリストファー・スティヴンズ（和文英訳）
翻訳： 松浦直美（英文和訳）、
写真： 加藤 健
デザイン： 津山 勇
印刷・製本： 朝日オフセット印刷株式会社
Date of publication: March 31, 2015
Edited and Published by: Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale
c/o Yokohama Museum of Art, 3-4-1, Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama
220-0012 JAPANTranslation: MATSUURA Naomi (English to Japanese),
Christopher STEPHENS (Japanese to English)
Photo: KATO Ken
Design: TSUYAMA Isamu
Printed by: Asahi Offset printing Co. Ltd.

©2015 Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale. All rights reserved.
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