Imabari Landscapes is about “living with art”, and it is an art project taking place in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture.

Mission of Imabari Landscapes

Imabari Landscapes is a project based on the concept of "living with art", which aims to nurture a platform that allows each one of us in the community to be who they are, to live with diversity and to live without conformity. In this project, we use "art" as a means to offer people the possibility to choose such a way of life. The role of "culture", which encapsulates "art" in itself, is to stimulate people' s curiosity toward others and other cultures, and to serve as a gateway to a world they have yet to discover. By introducing artists of our time as well as their works to our city, this project creates opportunities for people to interact with their thoughts. Art is obviously not a cure-all, but we believe that it has the ability to help us get through an impasse.

Outline of Imabari Landscapes

Imabari Landscapes began in 2018 with "Imabari Landscapes They Saw (ILTS)," a project where people in the field of contemporary art were invited to travel around Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture. Since 2021, we have initiated "ART SANPO 2021", a contemporary art exhibition where artworks travel around shops and stores in Imabari.

1. About “Imabari Landscapes They Saw”

During their stay, guests had time to visit tourist locations, to recreate themselves with cycling and fishing, as well as to learn the history of the city by visiting moats and historical sites. At the end of their stay, we hosted an event to have a dialogue between artists and the locals on the potential of art and the future of the city.

[ Projects ]
- Imabari Landscapes They Saw 2018
Guest: Nozomu Ogawa, Masahiro Wada, Takahiro Iikawa, Masahiro Satsuka
Duration: 22nd of October - 25th of October, 2018
 > > Click here to see their visit

- Imabari Landscapes They Saw 2020
Guest: Taro Komiya, Kai Maetani, Kenichi Ishiguro, Takuya Tsutsumi
Duration: 18th of July - 21st of July, 2020
 > > Click here to see their visit
> > Youtube Video 1 https://youtu.be/-okicuW_slc
      Video 2 https://youtu.be/yPyK8HozhKQ

2. About ART SANPO

About ART SANPO: Since the epidemic of Covid-19 in March 2020, our movements have largely been restricted, and inevitably, we shifted the focus of our projects from “people” in the field of contemporary art to “artworks”. Our idea is that though our movements are restricted under this circumstance, artworks are still allowed to travel freely around the city. "ART SANPO" is an contemporary art exhibition initiated in 2021, where contemporary artworks travel around shops and stores in Imabari.

During the exhibition, the artworks by seven contemporary artists rotate around six shops/stores in Imabari City every month. These shops/stores, such as antique shops, general goods stores, coffee shops, pottery shops, Italian restaurants, and Kaiseki restaurants are loved by the locals. are. As the works rotate around the stores/shops every month, please drop by and enjoy the works while shopping, drinking coffee, or dining.

About Imabari City

Imabari is the second largest city in Ehime Prefecture and is located in the northeastern part of it. Following a recent merger, the population of the city has grown to 172,384.  The “Setouchi Shimanami Kaido”connecting Imabari to Onomichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, across the straits and islands of the Seto Inland Sea, is regarded as a “Cyclists’ Sanctuary” whose landscapes are something that cannot be missed. The main industry of Imabari is the production of towels as well as ship building; in fact “Imabari Towel” is an internationally recognised brand from the city.

Director of Imabari Landscapes

Yumi SUYAMA

Born in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, Japan in 1986. During her university years, SUYAMA interned at a contemporary art gallery in Seattle, Washington, and this was where she gained her interests in art. Upon returning to Japan, she began working for a manufacturing company, but this did not stop her from pursuing her interest in art. In 2018, she became a freelancer and started to work in the field of art. Currently, while independently organizing events to promote the notion of “living with art” for those who are not familiar with contemporary art, she proactively works as a coordinator for various art projects initiated by artists and local governments.