#Japan #Hachioji #Hachioji Festival #General Museum #Art User Conference

A Dive into the Hachioji Arts Festival 2023

The Hachioji Arts Festival, which began in 2023, is a unique cultural event that intertwines art with the rich history, nature, and culture of the Hachioji area. This festival not only showcases art but integrates it within the various landscapes and remnants of prior industrial sites, traditional houses, outdoor facilities, and parks across the region.

One of the main highlights of this year’s festival is the initiative called the “General Museum.” This project focuses on the concept of art not merely as an object to view, but as a mode of perception. It challenges the traditional views of art by placing emphasis on how we see and interpret the world around us. The General Museum invites visitors to engage with elements of transportation, including roads and traffic signage, specifically within the unique framework of the Kiyokawa Traffic Park, designed for children to learn traffic rules. However, due to ongoing construction, this space has taken on a more complex identity, overlaid with asphalt and intersected by nature, as cracks in the ground allow plants, carried by birds, to flourish.

The festival's schedule runs from November 8 to December 7, with Wednesdays set as the weekly closure. Operating hours are from 10 AM to 5 PM. Located at Kiyokawa Traffic Park, the venue is situated at 43-1 Kiyokawa-cho, Hachioji City, Tokyo. This setting reflects the festival's overarching theme: to shed light on interconnected experiences between parks, streets, schools, and nature, creating a museum of complexities and narratives.

A Parallel Event: The Art User Conference

Moreover, the festival features the Art User Conference, which delves into the idea of “art without art.” This exploration takes place outside traditional artistic frameworks, aiming to dismantle the segmented roles of artists, audiences, critics, curators, and collectors. The conference has previously showcased projects like “Robert Smithson without Robert Smithson” (2014) and “Future Artist Chronicles” (2017). Since 2021, it has embraced a broader vision, conceptualizing the world itself as a museum through the General Museum project.

Key figures in this initiative include Shin Kibara, Koume Tazawa, Mio Nakajima, Satoshi Hashimoto, and Katsumasa Matsui, along with diverse voices from the public, contributing to the museum's management. This interactive approach invites everyone to participate in redefining the art narrative.

Embracing Hachioji’s Heritage

The Hachioji Arts Festival is more than just an exhibition; it is a cultural journey. Visitors engage as travelers, experiencing not only the visual arts but also music, theater, workshops, talks, and performances that lie at the heart of the community. The festival aims to stimulate local culture through its 'Machiiro Project,' which fosters grassroots engagement and enthusiasm within the city.

For the 2025 edition, the festival promises to bring more immersive experiences, weaving together the sounds of machines, the rhythms of artisans, and the melodies of art and design. As time intertwines with tradition and modernity, new stories are bound to emerge. The initiative encourages participation, inviting individuals to contribute their stories and memories as threads in a larger narrative that extends from Hachioji to the world.

The festival's essence resides in the seamless blend of the past and future, showcasing the region’s artistic vibrancy and fostering a deeper understanding of one’s surroundings. It encourages exploration, inviting you to partake in this cultural tapestry woven through time. Join us in embarking on this journey from November 8 to December 7, 2025, and discover the endless possibilities within the vibrant lanes of Hachioji.