The new art festival opened with the catchphrase, “When the sun shines, let’s go to Ichihara! is the catchphrase for this new art festival that utilizes closed elementary schools, the Kominato Railway’s trains and buses, and other transportation systems, as well as local resources such as food and nature. The festival has created an unprecedented form, with the creation of a base facility using a closed school, mobile performances incorporating trains, stations, and even scenery from train windows, and the public restrooms at stations themselves becoming artworks. Centered in a satoyama in the southern part of Ichihara City, the festival aimed to solve problems faced by suburban cities in the Tokyo metropolitan area by utilizing the power of art to bring local resources to light and to encourage collaboration among diverse groups of people.

With the fusion of contemporary art and local resources as one theme, many hands-on workshops will be held in addition to the exhibition of works by artists who have been continuously active in Ichihara City. The “Kominato Railway 100 Years Old Project,” collaboration with traditional local festivals, and welcome boards created by students of elementary and junior high schools in the city, all contributed to make this an “art festival in Oragamachi” that brought together artists, the community, residents, and supporters.

The third edition of the Boso Satoyama Art Festival Ichihara Art x Mix 2020+, which had to be repeatedly postponed due to the worldwide outbreak of the new coronavirus, will feature 90 works by 70 artists, including some from overseas, in a record number of works, as well as the “Station Building Project” featuring 17 Kominato Railway station buildings. In addition, the “Station Building Project” featuring 17 station buildings of the Kominato Railway, the Goi Engine Works, and the former Heisan Elementary School will be newly added to the festival area, resulting in even more advanced works. As a new art festival in the Corona Disaster, thorough measures were taken to prevent infection, including disinfection of the exhibition halls and temperature checks for visitors, and the festival ended without a single infected person.

Held in five Uchiboso cities as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Chiba Prefecture’s birth, it succeeded its predecessor “ICHIHARA ART x MIX,” which had been held since 2014 and developed as the first regional collaborative art festival through public-private cooperation. Led by general producer Takeshi Kobayashi and general director Fram Kitagawa, the festival featured 91 artworks (including 60 new works/new developments) as well as live performances that fused music, video, dance, and technology, and attracted attention as a new venue for expression that depicted the future of the region.