Beppu Contemporary Art Festival 2015
 
18 July - 27 September 2015
 
This was the third and final edition of “Mixed Bathing World,” a citizen-led contemporary art festival that took place in three-year intervals since 2009. Subtitled “The World is Full of Mysteries,” this time the festival included various programs in a “tour” format designed to intensify visitors’ experience of the region and the works on display, as well as exhibitions at department stores, “haunted house” style performances, and other attractions in close connection with the region. Showcasing projects for people of any age or sex to enjoy, the festival attracted a total of 53,825 visitors.
The festival’s schedule coincided with “Beppu Art Month 2015,” “Kashima 2015 Beppu Artist in Residence” and “Beppu Project 2015.”
 
Organized by: Beppu Contemporary Art Festival “Mixed Bathing World” Executive Committee
Co-organized by: The Japan Foundation Asia Center


Beppu Contemporary Art Festival 2012
 
6 October - 2 December 2012
 
Following the 2009 edition that had attracted much attention as the first international art festival ever in Oita Prefecture, the second installment followed in 2012. The program this time encompassed eight art projects and two dance-related projects that were realized at different locations in Beppu.
The festival coincided with the “Beppu Art Month 2012” that featured an extensive program with dance performances, talk events, photo exhibitions and art workshops in Beppu City. In addition, an exhibition of Grand Prize winners at the Beppu Art Award 2012, the “Kashima 2012” artist residency project, and the “Kunisaki Art Project 2012” were also carried out at the same time, completing one big “Mixed Bathing World” that attracted a total of 117,348 visitors.
As a concept book for the Beppu Contemporary Art Festival 2012, the festival’s general director Takashi Serizawa wrote Beppu. A mixture of true and fictional stories capturing the author’s thoughts on art “and the city” and “art and the environment,” it is at once a travelogue set in Beppu. The book was reissued with a new design in November 2020.
 
Organized by: Beppu Contemporary Art Festival ‘Mixed Bathing World’ Executive Committee


Beppu Contemporary Art Festival 2009
 
11 April - 14 June 2009
 
Steam, faces of saints and common people, immigrant culture… Beppu is a magical port town with all sorts of mysteries lurking at every corner. This festival was launched as an art project that could only take place here, with the aim to communicate the fascinating character of this part of Japan by way of art and culture. The festival eventually took place three times, under the general directorship of P3 director Takashi Serizawa.
For the 2009 edition, eight (groups of) artists from Japan and abroad visited Beppu. Each of them chose one specific place at which they would exhibit a piece that couldn’t be realized at any other location, resulting in an array of works that functioned as “art gates” to another world that inspire again new spiritual journeys. The new creations were to be explored in the “Art Gate Cruise,” for which visitors had to travel around Beppu to see the exhibits. This was the centerpiece of a varied program that further included “Wakuwaku Mixed Bathing Apartment” with young Japanese artists staying and working in an old apartment building; the contemporary dance project “Beppu Danse;” the “Beppu Ongaku” program of live music performed at characteristic locations in town; and the “Beppu Navigate” expedition into the neighborhood’s back alleys. All of these things came together to stage a unique “Mixed Bathing World” that ultimately attracted a total of 91,000 art fans, especially from urban areas such as Fukuoka, Kyoto/Osaka/Kobe, and the greater Tokyo region.
 
Organized by: Beppu-shi, Beppu Contemporary Art Festival ‘Mixed Bathing World’ Executive Committee
Project Office Management: BEPPU PROJECT
 
 
Beppu Contemporary Art Festival 2015 ‘Mixed Bathing World’
Mixed Bathing World 2009 Catalogue