This fall the triennial Okayama Art Summit will return under the artistic direction of French artist Pierre Huyghe. From Friday, September 27 through Sunday, November 24, the exhibition will be on view in the centre of Okayama City, Japan and in a number of historic and cultural venues.

The second edition of the Summit builds on the rich historical legacy and cultural heritage of the city. Okayama sits within western Japan’s Setouchi region, which is increasingly recognised for such art attractions as the Ohara Museum of Art, the Naoshima “art island,” and the popular contemporary art festival Setouchi Triennale, whose fourth edition will partly coincide with the Okayama Art Summit in September and October 2019.

Many in the crowded field of art biennales and triennales struggle to find alternatives to conventional, curator-led exhibitions. Okayama Art Summit stands out as an experiment directed by internationally renowned artists. UK artist Liam Gillick directed the inaugural Summit in 2016.

Huyghe entitled this year’s Summit IF THE SNAKE, promising to challenge visitors to rethink what constitutes art exhibitions.

IF THE SNAKE is a living entity, through which navigate heterogeneous things, chemical and algorithmic processes, as well as different intelligent life forms. The inherent dynamic characteristics of the worlds, proposed by the artists, and the conditions of their co-presence, endlessly grow particular modes of uncertain and unpredictable continuity.

The entity is an infant complex system in formation. People are exposed to its indifference. The exhibition is just one in an infinite possibility, one hypothesis, of its existence.

Artistic Director: Pierre Huyghe

Artists:
Tarek Atoui / Matthew Barney / Etienne Chambaud / Paul Chan / Ian Cheng / Melissa Dubbin & Aaron S. Davidson / John Gerrard / Fabien Giraud & Raphaël Siboni / Glass Bead / Elizabeth Hénaff / Eva L’Hoest / Fernando Ortega / Sean Raspet / Lili Reynaud-Dewar / Pamela Rosenkranz / Tino Sehgal / Mika Tajima

Hours
Friday, September 27 to Sunday, November 24, 2019 (51 days)
Closed: Mondays
[except for October 14 (Monday, holiday) and November 4 (Monday, holiday)
in which the following Tuesdays will be closed]

Preview
10am to 5pm on Thursday, September 26, 2019 (TBC)

Venues
Former Uchisange Elementary School
Tenjinyama Cultural Plaza of Okayama Prefecture
Okayama Orient Museum
Okayama Castle
Hayashibara Museum of Art
Among others