For subscribers
Museum-hopping in Naoshima, Japan’s art island
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea welcomes its guests and residents at the Miyanoura Port with Yayoi Kusama's Red Pumpkin sculpture.
PHOTO: ANGELO MORALES
Angelo Morales
Follow topic:
NAOSHIMA, Japan – Often labelled Japan’s art island, Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea is a testament to how the local community, private sector and artists can work together to reinvigorate an island.
Once home to an active copper smelting industry, Naoshima experienced an economic decline in the 1980s. A collaboration that kicked off in 1985 between the local government and Japanese company Benesse Holdings transformed the island into a centre for contemporary art.
