Arts and Cities

Aichi Triennale 2010, one of the largest international exhibitions in Japan, began full-scale preparations for its opening in two years, bearing the weight of hopes in the local community and expectations from within and outside the country. We are following three basic objectives in order to realize a community-friendly triennial exhibition representing the culture of Aichi / Nagoya, and to make the exhibition a unique outlet of art that attracts international attention.

The first objective is to demonstrate trends in cutting edge contemporary art centered around visual art with an international perspective. In other words, the basic missions of the Aichi Triennale - to be held regularly beginning in 2010 - are to cast light on what is currently happening in the art world and to communicate the lively energy of contemporary artists' activities. It is quite certain that the Triennale will play a potent role in invigorating the art and culture of Aichi, by bringing together new trends of art and disseminating them to the world.

The second objective is to produce the sense of exhilaration of a celebration in and of a city. This epic project that expands into the streets, parks and public squares without limiting itself to museums and theaters will create scenes filled with extraordinary charm in the city. Not only will this Triennale offer an opportunity to appreciate distinguished works of art, it is expected to become a platform for fresh communication among people and between art and people in the face of works of art.

The third objective is to actively incorporate performing arts such as opera, dance and music, with contem- porary art as the core. This is an innovative departure from existing biennials and triennials. Rather than separating presentations by genres, we intend to emphasize as much correlativity as possible to enable active interactions across discipline boundaries.

Aichi Triennale 2010 will be held based on these basic objectives. We believe the involvement of citizens in preparations for this project is vital in order to realize an epic city celebration. Thus, we seek the understand- ing and cooperation of you all.

Oct 2010 Akira Tatehata