Period

August 23[Sat] – August 31 [Sun], 2025 (Exhibition)

Millennium Forest Festival: August 29 [Fri]

Eve Festival: August 30 [Sat]

Main Festival: August 31 [Sun]

Venue

Lake Kizaki, Shinano Hall, Nishimaru Shinya Memorial Hall, Millennium Forest, Miasa Fresh Winds House,Lake Kisaki POWWOW,Yamanoko Village, and others.

Organizer

NPO Primitive Sense Company

Co-organizer

Nobuyuki Sugihara

Coordinators

Ayaka Nakamura,Masao Kusafuka, Ayaka Suzuki

Supported by

　　Shinshu Arts Council [Nagano Cultural Promotion Foundation]

 

Artists

Eisaku Ando, Shinji Asai, Gaishi Ishizaka, Yuji Ueno, Edgar Banasan (Kalinga Tribe, Philippines) x Ayaka Yamashita, Takuya Komaba, Kaoruco, Daisuke Kagawa, Yusuke Kawamura, Masao Kusafuka, Junichi Kuzume x Masakazu Teramoto x nao, Masayuki Kuroda x Mina Sasaki x Haruna Sugisaki x Ayaka Toyoshima, Genryu Miasa Drum, Zai Kuning (Singapore), Wataru Sakai, Hiromu Sato, Experimental Body Mudai, Jean Sasportas x Shunichiro Hisada, Xiao Fang Family (Taiwanese Bunun tribe), Nobuyuki Sugihara, Ayaka Suzuki, Masami Tada, Yi-hui Chen (Taiwan), Atsushi Tomatsu, Dorothea Seror(Germany), Ayaka Nakamura, Sahi Tsumura, Masashi Nishina, Ha Jhonnam (Korea), Sakurako Hamaguchi, Parco Kinoshita, Hime-ringo, Fiona Paterson (France), Taeko Mori, runegraf (Italy), and others

The Souvenirs from the Mountains of Water

Now in its 16th year, the Shinano Primitive Sense Art Festival will be held under the theme “Yamazuto of Water – The Souvenirs from the Mountains of Water.” Yamazuto, meaning “a gift from the mountains,” and centered on the shores of Lake Kisaki in the Nishina three lakes, which are filled with melted snow from the Northern Alps, we aim to create a festival where all visitors can remember that they are all expressionists in every form by receiving experiences like a gift from the mountains, born from the abundant water.

Primitive Sense

When people straightly face to the nature, primitive sense will return to our feeling. I think fine art is born at that moment. “Nature” is not only at outside of us, contains the life of ourselves, inherited from the origin of life. The true richness is that there is beauty normally in the living that has been inherited from the Jomon period. We will create a local “culture” by staying on the shore of Lake Kizaki, which is surrounded by the majestic nature of the Japanese Northern Alps, and creating expressions that can only be created by meeting local people who live there. It is to create a festival as a cultural boundary that connects the outside and the locals, connects art and tradition, and cities and regions.

 

Application details

Any genre is welcome. Anything that inhabits and evokes primitive sense.

1: Residency production

Artist fee of 50,000-100,000 yen and participation for the duration of the residency (2 Aug-1 Sept), including the period of the art festival (29 Aug-31 Aug).
Works created that can be exhibited will be exhibited from 23 Aug to 31 Aug.
*Artists in residence must be able to participate until the Feast on the evening of the main festival on 31 Aug.
*Budget will be determined by plans and transport costs. *A place to stay will be provided free of charge.

2: Exhibition participation

During the exhibition period (23 Aug – 31 Aug),  you can participate in the exhibition.
*There is no budgetary support.

3: Festival participation

You can participate in the festival on 29 Aug, 30 Aug and 31 Aug. *Please apply for a plan to run the event with workshop participation fees or donations or sale of artwork or food sales and earn your own participation fees. Please participate by taking sales or workshop participation fees.
*There is no budgetary support.

4: Young artist’s quota

Participation in the residency period (2 Aug – 1 Sept), including the festival period (29 Aug – 31 Aug). Young artists who want to have the opportunity to present their work. Participation with the mindset that it would be good if they could have a meal. Participation while assisting with the arts festival.
*No budgetary support is provided. *A place to stay will be provided free of charge.

How to apply.

Please submit your plan in an A4 file or in any other way you wish.
*You may send your work.
*Please submit your primitive sense as if you were sending a letter.
Entries will not be returned.
Entries can also be submitted by e-mail, but the total size of all files must not exceed 5 MB.

Submission

1: Application form → download (pdf)
2: Plan proposal A4 file or free format
3: Images of previous works
4: Budget proposal, schedule and artist statement
Application period
20 April – 20 May 2025 (must arrive by 20 May)

Announcement of results

Scheduled for late June 2025

Residency period

2 August – 1 September 2025 (planned)

Judging

Plans will be decided by director Nobuyuki Sugihara, NPO Primitive Sense Company.