Art House Project 家プロジェクト

Published on : 03/03/2016
by : C.L.

Domestic Art

Benesse Holdings and the Fukutake Foundation don't just want to develop Naoshima by way of ultra-modern museums. They also wants to revitalise its culture and history, including the island's abandoned houses.

The Art House Project aims to revitalise the unoccupied houses and traditional Japanese buildings whose occupants have left the island. Soichiro Fukutake wanted to reverse the trend, taking advantage of the spaces created by this desertion to attract new visitors to the island, nearly six years after the creation of Benesse House.

The seven converted houses are in the eastern part of the island, in the small village of Honmura where you will also find the Ando Museum.

Tickets are available at the tourist office (near Miyanoura ferry terminal), Benesse House, Honmura Lounge & Archive (a souvenir shop and project information office) or at Ueda Tobacco.

Gokaisho

Once a house where the islanders gathered to play the game of go, it was chosen by Yoshihiro Suda to accommodate his work Tree of Spring, through which he celebrates the beauty of camellia flowers, present everywhere in the house and garden.

Haisha

This former dental office was completely reworked by Otake Shinro (the architect of the public bath I ♥ 湯) and also hosts several eclectic sculptures on the theme of kitsch by the same artist.

Ishibashi

Formerly the home of a rich salt merchant, you can now view two paintings by Hiroshi Senju here, one directly on one of the walls of the house.

Kadoya

This 200 year-old house was renovated using traditional techniques and houses Sea of Time '98 by Tatsuo Miyajima, created with the help of the inhabitants of the island. It is a work using coloured lights and water.

Kinza

Near to Gokaisho, Kinza offers artwork created during its restoration by Rei Naito, who plays with light and darkness in the domestic space. Warning: this can be viewed by appointment only, and just one person at a time may enter.

Minamidera

Like Chichu Art Museum, Minamidera is the result of a collaboration between Ando and James Turrell. The area was once the site of several shrines, and here you can see Backside of the Moon, a mysterious work in which the artist plays with our perceptions of light.

Go'o shrine

The artist Hiroshi Sugimoto restored this temple, first built during the Edo period. A glass staircase connects a subterranean chamber with the main shrine, symbolising the union of earth and sky. This work is always open to visit.