Setouchi Triennale 2016 Closing Ceremony

 

Earlier this week, I told you about Team Ogi’s Boat Dance for the last day of the Setouchi Triennale 2016, now let’s get to the very end of the art festival, with the departure of the last ferry from Ogijima and then the official Closing Ceremony itself.

I have to warn you, not many great pictures or information in this post, just raw reporting of what happened, including (probably) too many pictures that are a bit repetitive and not that great. I’m including so many of them just so people involved in the event and that would read the blog can see and save them if they want to. Sorry, if you’re not one of those people and if you think a dozen pictures would have been enough instead of the 40 or so that this post contains.

And let’s start right away, but an Ogijima tradition (as well as some other islands); the departure of the last ferry of the last day of the Setouchi Triennale. It’s always a bittersweet moment when islanders and some artists wave goodbye to the last visitors as well as the Koebi-tai volunteers who leave the island.

 

Closed until Spring 2019…

 

Koebi-tai volunteers are ready to climb on board (in the background).
Residents and artists are arriving for the send-off too.

 

Tape is being thrown for the boat! It’s not a proper “sending off the last ferry” without tape!

 

Shiraishi-san has collected all the slippers from Ogi School PSS40 Project.

 

 

 

Parco Kinoshita is having a lot of fun with the tape!

 

We are having a lot of fun on the ferry too!
(thanks to Kazumasa-kun for the picture)

 

 

Some members of Team Ogi and of the Group 1965, as well as a few residents.
Regular readers and people familiar with Ogijima will recognize a few faces.

 

 

Sumihisa Arima of the Group 1965

 

Parco Kinoshita and Hiroyuki Matsukage of the Group 1965.

 

 

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The Setouchi Triennale was then over for the majority of people. However, there was still one last matter to attend to for some happy few, yours truly included: the Official Closing Ceremony!

This year, as opposed to three years ago, it was not open to anyone, and it was located in one of the big event room of the famous and luxurious Hotel Clement in Takamatsu.

It started with some speeches from various people, among them Keizo Hamada and Soichiro Fukutake (two of the three people in charge of the Triennale, Fram Kitagawa didn’t speak for some reason).

 

Soichiro Fukutake

 

Then, for about an hour and a half, there were various evocations of the twelve islands of the Setouchi Triennale, most were fun, some a bit silly, some a bit more serious or moving. But overall, the mood was a very festive one.

Here are some pictures and a video of the event to give you an idea of what it looked like:

 

The Koebi-tai orchestra

 

The Snuff Puppets made a surprise appearance!
(and I realize with horror that I never talked about them here, despite the fact that it was one of the high points of the Triennale… I’ll do it as soon as possible)

 

 

Yubiwa Hotel

 

Some Koebi reenacted some works of art. Here, Beyond the Border – Tide by Lin Shuen Long.
Probably one of the most liked artworks this year.

Note that during the ceremony is usually announced the “winner” of the festival. I don’t know if it wasn’t this year, or if I missed it when it was announced, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was this one. I’ll tell you who won the Grand Prize as soon as I know it.

 

Two high school students (future chefs?) talking about their experience at Shima Kitchen.

 

 

I was surprised and glad to see that Yasuaki Igarashi was there (I met him three years ago, but never saw him again since) to talk about his Sora Ami, a piece I really like.

 

 

Koebi-tai at it again, this time, reenacting the statue in Awashima’s schoolyard that was part of Mounir Fatmi’s The Song of the Children All Gone.

 

Ibukijima fish

 

 

In this video:

• Some residents of Ogijima (led by Yamato Fukui), and some members of Team Ogi and the Group 1965 talking about the revitalization of the island. (“Wait? What?” says the reader, they just waived goodbye to the people leaving the island, how could they be in Takamatsu an hour later? It’s magic… Or rather a private boat. 😉 )
• The Snuff Puppets
• Yoichiro Yoda talks about Island Theatre Megi.
• Yubiwa Hotel
• Koebi-tai reenacting things.
• The stars of this triennale, that is the Seppuku Pistols.
• The grand finale with everyone.

 

 

 

Seppuku Pistols

 

 

 

 

And just like that, the Setouchi Triennale 2016 ended…

But if you want to know and see more about it, worry not, it’s far from being over in this blog; I still have many artworks and places to show you.

Also, don’t forget that if you want to visit the area, you don’t have to wait until 2019. A lot of the artworks are permanent and viewable all the time (even though a lot of them will be closed for the winter).

In the meantime…