2018 Volume 33 Issue 1 Pages 114-131
These days, Japan has seen an explosion of art festivals called “art projects” across the country. The Setouchi Triennale (Setouchi International Art Festival) is a contemporary art festival held every three years on a dozen islands in the Seto Inland Sea. An art festival can be regarded as successful to the extent that it represents authentic regional images well both on tourist and resident sides. We delve into how art experiences help construct visitors’ island images by way of brand associative network analyses. We use brand concept data collected on two islands, Shodoshima (the largest and most populous island in this region) and its neighboring small island, Teshima that has been suffered from an illegal dumping of waste. Art plays a pivotal role in constructing island images for Teshima while it is not the case for Shodoshima that is already filled with island images through long history of sightseeing and film shooting. The art festival also contributes to revealing the illegal dumping of waste in the eyes of tourists through the famous Teshima Art Museum to some extent.
