The Setouchi Triennale installs contemporary art across a dozen islands of the Seto Inland Sea — Naoshima, Teshima, Inujima, Megijima and others — many of them depopulated, several with industrial scars, one a former quarantine island for leprosy patients. Works are placed in abandoned houses, a former copper refinery and purpose-built museums by Tadao Ando and others.
The executive committee publishes attendance per edition; we have not collected a dated one.
It runs every three years and in three separate seasons — spring, summer and autumn — within that year, with different works open in each.
Ferries are the binding constraint: island services are small, infrequent and oversubscribed during the festival, and a day's itinerary is determined entirely by the timetable. Naoshima's museums are open year-round and are the fallback in an off year.
PlanningNOT ANNUAL — every three years, in three separate seasons within that year. Check the year before booking ferries.
Dates
Season
Computed from the recurrence rule we record for this entry, not copied from a listing. A date marked ~ comes from a calendar conversion and the observance may fall a day or two either side.