The First Maebashi International Art Festival 2026 Runs Until December 20, with 70 Artists and Groups from Japan and Abroad at Arts Maebashi and in Shopping Streets

In central Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, “The 1st Maebashi International Art Festival 2026,” organized by the Maebashi International Art Festival 2026 Executive Committee, is under way. It runs for 80 days, from Saturday, September 19 to Sunday, December 20, 2026. In venues including Arts Maebashi, SHIROIYA HOTEL, shops on shopping streets and outdoor sites, 70 artists and groups from Japan and abroad present works within walking distance of one another. Taking as its theme “Mebuku,” the urban development vision formulated by Maebashi City in 2016, the festival aims to bring vitality to the city.

A first art festival in the city of “Mebuku”

The theme, “Mebuku. Where good things grow.,” is Maebashi City’s urban development vision formulated in August 2016. It is said to have been created by surveying and analyzing the city’s characteristics from a private-sector perspective and setting out the kind of city it aims to become. The festival’s stated purpose is to contribute to urban development by using buildings and shops in the city as exhibition spaces.

The executive committee chair and general producer is Hitoshi Tanaka, representative director of the Tanaka Hitoshi Foundation and representative director and CEO of JINS HOLDINGS Inc. The program director is Takenori Miyamoto, associate professor at Tokyo University of the Arts. MELCO GROUP Inc. is a special co-organizer, and Maebashi City a co-organizer.

Alongside the works, the official website also introduces the architecture of the city center: Arts Maebashi, the municipal art museum created by renovating a former department store; SHIROIYA HOTEL, a 300-year-old inn revived by Sou Fujimoto; and Akihisa Hirata’s Maebashi Galleria, among others. Many of the festival’s venues are also in such buildings and shopping streets.

What can be seen? Main artists and venues

At Arts Maebashi and other venues, Japanese-Canadian artist Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka shows “Hakanai,” a work using handmade washi paper from Kiryu and Kochi, suspended in the museum’s atrium. Naoki Ishikawa’s “Journey to Denjiro” is a photographic display tracing the friendship between Denjiro Hasegawa, said to be the first Japanese person to photograph the Himalayas, and Kunio Igaya, who lived on Mount Akagi. Martin Margiela presents “PODIUM,” a structure modeled on a podium and covered in synthetic hair.

Outdoors, Tadashi Kawamata creates “Tree Hut Maebashi 2026.” He built one hut on site in the zelkova tree in front of Arts Maebashi and installed two more, conceived with citizens, on a public open space along National Route 50. Keiichiro Shibuya creates “Abstract Music,” a sound installation that transforms a shuttered shopping street awaiting redevelopment with sound alone. Yoichi Ochiai’s video installation “Liquid Universe” is scheduled to be completed and installed during the festival.

In a former shop on the fourth floor of the Hause Building, Mika Ninagawa with EiM presents “Only the Sky Never Looked Our Way,” a theater-like work without performers. Other participants include Sam Falls and Tahi Saihate + Shun Sasaki. On Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22, “MAEBASHI ART MARKET – The Art Festival You Can Take Home” is held on the Maebashi Chuo-dori Shopping Street, with creators and shops from across Japan and Maebashi makers taking part.

Tickets, prices and opening hours

A passport ticket is required to enter paid venues, priced (including tax) at 3,000 yen for adults and 2,000 yen for university, graduate and vocational school students. High school students and younger are admitted free on receiving a kids’ pass (wristband), and holders of a disability certificate or similar plus one companion are also free. During the festival, the passport allows one entry to each paid venue.

Paid venues include Arts Maebashi, Maebashi Galleria, the Hause Building, the former Kondo Watch Shop and Teramachi Art Center. There are also many free venues and outdoor works that do not require a passport. On first entry, visitors must check in at the general counter at Arts Maebashi, and tickets are sold at that counter and online.

Venues are open from 10:00 to 18:00 (last entry 17:30), and the Maebashi Literature Museum from 9:00 to 17:00. They are closed every Wednesday. As closing days and hours may differ by venue, check the map on the official website before visiting.

Access and getting around

From Tokyo Station, take the Joetsu or Hokuriku Shinkansen to Takasaki Station and change to the JR Ryomo Line for Maebashi Station, about 1 hour 20 minutes in total. Arts Maebashi is about a 10-minute walk from the North Exit of JR Maebashi Station; by local bus, get off at “Honmachi.”

The venues are concentrated within a radius of about 500 meters and can be toured on foot. As the area tends to be crowded, the organizers ask visitors to use public transportation.

Editor’s perspective

The Maebashi festival is a place to see works and, at the same time, a place that shows where an urban development vision drawn up ten years ago stands today. That the official website introduces works and architecture side by side reflects this. Walking through the city’s shops, former department store and shopping streets becomes part of the experience itself.

The passport is valid throughout the festival and allows one entry to each paid venue, making it easy to plan visits over several days. The festival closes on December 20, the same day as the international art exhibition “TOKYO ATLAS” on the Tokyo waterfront. November events are summarized in our November 2026 art event calendar.

Overview

Name: The 1st Maebashi International Art Festival 2026 (Maebashi Biennale 2026)
Dates: Saturday, September 19 – Sunday, December 20, 2026
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30). Maebashi Literature Museum 9:00–17:00. May differ by venue
Closed: Wednesdays
Venues: Arts Maebashi, Maebashi Cinema House, SHIROIYA HOTEL, Maebashi Galleria, Maebashi Literature Museum, Teramachi Art Center, the Hause Building, the former Kondo Watch Shop and other locations in central Maebashi, plus outdoor works
Admission: Passport ticket: adults 3,000 yen, university, graduate and vocational school students 2,000 yen, high school students and younger free (kids’ pass must be collected), holders of a disability certificate or similar plus one companion free
Access: About a 10-minute walk from the North Exit of Maebashi Station on the JR Ryomo Line to Arts Maebashi
Organizer: Maebashi International Art Festival 2026 Executive Committee
Official website: https://maebashi-biennale.com/
*Information as of October 19, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: SHIROIYA HOTEL ©Shinya Kigure (from a press release by avex creator agency inc.)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on materials released by the Maebashi International Art Festival 2026 Executive Committee (October 2, 2026) and information on the official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team