It's been 20 years since the Great Kobe earthquake!

Despite being hit hardest by the disaster, Shin-Nagata has recovered successfully.

Using the area as a stage, Kobe biennale took the main role in using art to further promote revitalization of the area. Six art festival organizations within the Hyogo prefecture area along with the artists active at those festivals created works to connect different regions with Nagata.

Kobe Biennale / "Mu" Hidetsugu Tonoiso

 

Nishinomiya Funasaka Biennale / "Sora wo tsumugu, aida wo tsumugu ±±± (Sasasa: Hiroko Sasaki, Shun Sato) + Kengo Shibatsuji

Tatsuno Art Project / "34652633135148338△3486650313455874-ten to ten no taishosa", Chika Shibata

 

Woodcraft Folk Art Ooya / "Tabereruno?", Yozo Tanaka

Asago Geijutsu no Mori Art Festival / "Love Stone Project" Atsuya Tominaga (sculptor)

 

Tamba Sasayama Machinami (Historic Street) Art Festival / "Heijima – Himitsukiji no youna mono"('Heijima – Secret base -like thing') Akira Kondo (sculptor, iron), Maki Shimizu (painter), Shunsuke Nakanishi (photographer), Sumiyo Honiden (sculptor).

Besides the art festival, we would like to introduce some other highly recommended art spots in Shin Nagata.

The area surrounding Taishosuji shopping street, where the art festival was held, was 90-percent destroyed in the fires that followed the quake. In the town area, where some old houses still remain, Monohishizao Gallery can be found along with the old Futaba elementary school among others – some of the old downtown-like features of Nagata can still be seen.