Support with donations

The city of Omachi in Nagano prefecture is located at the foot of the Northern Alps, whose mountain peaks reach as high as three thousand metres. The city is nourished by clear snow-melt water, crisp air and the beauty of the changing seasons. From ancient times it flourished as a post-town on the Chikuni-Kaido Road, an old salt route. In recent years however, with a declining population and a shrinking local economy due to accelerating ageing and rapid decline in the birthrate, growing environmental issues, and the diversification of life-styles, the social situation of Omachi city has dramatically changed, in common with other regional cities across Japan.

Under such circumstances, the first iteration of Northern Alps Art Festival was held in 2017. This was part of a range of activities to build a distinctive community in cooperation with citizens, combining local assets with artistic and cultural creativity to bring out the untapped charms of the place. We welcomed over 430,000 visitors from both within and beyond Japan to the first festival, bringing one billion yen of economic benefit to the prefecture, in addition to 470 million yen of consumption expenditure within the city.

In our current highly information-oriented society, approaches to work have increasingly diversified as people increasingly pursue distinctive values and cast off urban lifestyles. Japan Alps Art Festival consciously aims to establish a sustainable regional society as a model of an approach to regional revitalisation incorporating an appreciation of culture. It aims to highlight the various assets and creativity at the foot of the Northern Alps, enabling the coexistence of nature and culture while combining the strategic branding of locality through contemporary art.

I am confident that the charm of Omachi city, with its splendid Northern Alps and the abundance of its nature, when combined with contemporary art, traditional culinary culture and hospitality of local people, will be strongly appealing to visitors. We would be very grateful for generous support from those who share and appreciate the aspiration of the festival.

Northern Alps Art Festival executive committee

Executive Chairman：

Ushikoshi Toru(mayor of Omachi)

Honorary Chairman：

Abe Shuichi(Governor of Nagano)

General Director：

Kitagawa Fram