Triennials and art festivals

“Biennale” is Italian for “every other year”, and the Venice Biennale, first held in 1895, is the example most often cited; one that comes every three years is a triennial. The Yokohama Triennale began in 2001, and its ninth edition runs from 23 April to 12 September 2027, centred on the Yokohama Museum of Art. Its artistic directors are two curators, Cosmin Costinaş from Romania and Inti Guerrero from Colombia, who say that an international exhibition is “inherently local”. The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale in Niigata Prefecture began in 2000 and also comes every three years; its works stand in villages and parks across six districts of Tokamachi and Tsunan, and empty houses and closed schools are put to use as well. The Sumida Gosai Art Festival in Tokyo (4 September to 20 December 2026) invites visitors to walk among the works, and some of them are participatory works that visitors join.

Pick up a map or guide first and see how many sites there are and where, then plan a route. At each site, read the introduction at the entrance before the works.