I write from Takamatsu, Japan where the sun is rising over an ordinary Wednesday. Simultaneously in the US, people are heading to the polls to cast ballots and express themselves politically.
As a distraction from the news, I provide a tale of the recreation of a community, through the power of benevolence and art.
Naoshima Island is small – under 5 square miles and 3,000 inhabitants. For years it was supported by a copper refinery, and children grew up and left the island for a bigger world and more opportunities.
All that began to change with a 1985 meeting between citizens and the Benesse Corporation – a publisher concentrating on educational materials.
Fast forward. Naoshima is now known internationally as “Art Island”, and a million tourists came in 2025 to visit the many museums and outdoor sculptures.
Tetsuhiko Fukutake, the founding president of the publishing company aspired to create a place in the Seto Inland Sea where children from all over the world could gather; and Chikatsugu Miyake, then incumbent mayor of Naoshima, dreamt of developing a cultural and educational area on the island.
Now visitors clamber around two of Yayoi Kusama’s dotted pumpkins, stroll the beaches and visit works by Monet, Louise Nevelson, James Terrell, Walter De Maria and many others.
Some sculptures are meant to be experienced, as well as seen. And the Art House Project is on another level entirely! Abandoned houses are adopted by artists and turned into works of art. I encourage you to learn more about this audacious program.
I must pack up and head on to the next city but will leave you with two main thoughts:
- If you are considering an act of financial benevolence before year end, consider Pacific NW Sculptors or other 501(c)(3) arts organizations.
- If you are an artist, be audacious! Never doubt your work’s ability to change the world.
Until we meet again, may your art flow!
~ Leslie Crist