By Cathy Hirano

　Onba is a local word meaning “stroller” or “baby carriage”. Onba Factory is a project launched by a team of 5 Kagawan artists for the Setouchi International Art Festival. Their project site is Ogijima, a tiny island just 40 minutes by ferry from Takamatsu Port. Ogijima, which has a population of less than 200 with an average age of over 75 years, is a little farming-fishing community perched on a hill rising out of the sea. With only two passable roads and many narrow, winding lanes, the local (elderly) population mainly gets around by pushing strollers. These conveniently hold their belongings, help them keep their balance as they manoeuvre up and down the steep, bumpy lanes and provide a seat to rest on.


Onba Factory has taken the stroller as their motif. Their concept is to transform the local people’s strollers into works of art, inviting each person to collaborate with the artists in developing the design, choosing colors, etc. Once the stroller has been decorated, it will be returned to the owner who can enjoy utilitarian art in their daily life. In order to do this, however, the team had to win the trust of the local people. They began by building their own funky strollers, which are lent to the islanders while the islanders’ strollers are being decorated. Since last October, team members have been visiting the island every week, getting to know the islanders and their way of life. Every time they visit, the members use their funky strollers, demonstrating to the islanders that they really work.


During the art festival, Onba Factory will lend visitors their strollers, called “Onba Works”, for walking tours of the village, taking in all 12 art project sites. According to the project leader, pushing the strollers really helped them slow down and experience the island in a new way.


The Onba Factory strollers, which are works of art in themselves, are on display at the Takamatsu Ishi no Minzoku-shiryokan (Stone Folk History Museum) until May 30. There is a park just outside the museum with play equipment for children and it’s a nice place for a picnic lunch, too.


Takamatsu Ishi no Minzoku-shiryokan


Admission: adults 200 yen, university students 150 yen, high school students and under free
Address: 1810 Mure, Mure-cho, Takamatsu
Tel: 087-845-8484
Access: By car about 20 minutes east from central Takamatsu. Located near the Yakuri cable car and hiking trail. By train, about 15 minutes on foot (uphill) from Yakuri Kotoden station.
  

The Setouchi International Art Festival will be held from July 19 to October 31. Definitely mark these dates on your calendars and make plans to go because it promises to be fantastic. It will take place on 7 islands and at Sunport Takamatsu in one of the most idyllic settings in the world (no exaggeration!).


Sunport Takamatsu



Many islands in the Seto Inland Sea are suffering from drastic de-population and aging. The average age in some is over 75 and in a decade or so, these island communities may be ghost towns. The festival aims to focus international attention on this stunning location and revitalize the island communities. Individuals and groups of artists from around the world have been given free rein to expand their imaginations at various sites on the islands, many of them transforming abandoned houses into art projects. If you’ve ever been to Naoshima, you’ll have an idea of what it could be like. And if you haven’t been to Naoshima, what are you waiting for! Now is your chance. Rather than static art hanging on the wall, be prepared for experiential art where you can walk right in and feel it and even make some of your own. Plus you’ll be surrounded by the ‘art’ of Mother Nature herself.


The festival is offering an art passport (adults 5,000 yen, high school students 3,000 yen, under 15 free), which is valid throughout the festival and can be used to see each site once and also gets you into existing art facilities on Naoshima and Inujima. This is an excellent deal! Passports can be bought in Japan only at the information centers at Takamatsu Port, Uno Port and Naoshima. The islands are accessible from Takamatsu. Megijima and Ogijima for example are a very short ferry ride from Takamatsu on a cute little ferry.


Check out the website for more details. http://setouchi-artfest.jp/en/ As there is not much concrete information about the different projects yet, I’ve been interviewing some of the people involved to get more information, which I’ll post later. On the basis of what I’ve gleaned so far, my advice is make plans to go, with your family, with your friends. This is going to be fun!