Japan's Seto Inland Sea, known for its breathtaking vistas and art-filled island of Naoshima, is the site for the inaugural Setouchi International Art Festival until October 31. Also titled as a "100-Day Art and Sea Adventure," about 78 Japanese and internationally recognized artists and art groups are showing a cornucopia of contemporary artworks on seven islands — Naoshima, Teshima, Megijima, Ogijima, Shodoshima, Oshima, Inujima — and the port areas of Takamatsu (on Shikoku Island) and Uno (on Honshu, near Okayama).
For Asia, it's a unique, ambitious undertaking, spearheaded by Soichiro Fukutake, an avid art patron and head of Okayama-based Benesse Inc. The Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation is also involved, with additional backing from local and prefectural governments.
"The Seto Island Sea is like the womb of Japan," explains Fram Kitagawa, director of the festival. Until the 1920s the region was Japan's commercial center, its "cultural and historic crossroads," when the country's commerce was still based on the sea.