第12回「カンナ秋のアートフェスティバル」が初の「鬼石芸術祭」となる
In 2026, the festival will be in its 12th year and will embrace a wider range of groups, professions and genres. Formerly known as the Kanna Art Festival, the Onishi Art Festival will connect people and places within its cultural sphere, forging new relationships and spaces. Drawing inspiration from the town's heritage and the legend of a stone-throwing demon, we will create artistic content that enriches everyday life. The festival will take place throughout most of the year, with the main events occurring in September and October.
2026年、この祭りは12回目を迎え、より多様なグループ、職業、ジャンルを包含します。かつて「かんな秋のアート祭り」として知られた「鬼石芸術祭」は、その文化的領域内で人と場所を結びつけ、新たな関係性と空間を創出します。町の歴史と石を投げる鬼の伝説からインスピレーションを得て、日常生活を豊かにする芸術的コンテンツを創造します。フェスティバルは年間を通じて開催され、主なイベントは9月と10月に集中します。
From May onwards
School workshops
The festival's theme will be introduced to the community through a series of workshops about the town's oni legend, led by various artists at local schools.
Soiree – Yakai 夜会
The work of local artists will be showcased alongside foreign food and drinks at monthly events held in unusual and abandoned places.
Fall:
Night art market – 夜市
At two Fridays in September contemporary artist will transform public spaces of Onishi into fluid, event-based sites. In line with Japanese urban tradition, a bustling night-market, offering performances 物芸, music (浪曲), story-telling 怪談, craft and food stalls 屋台, will provide entertainment and create a space for communication.
Yokai Parade – 百鬼夜行 Hyakki
The Night of the Demons will bring the town's legend of its namesake, the Oni, back to life. Accompanied by Rōkyoku (浪曲; naniwa-bushi, 浪花節), traditional Japanese narrative singing and ghost stories 怪談, Kaidan, a bunch of demons will parade through the streets. At the final destination, the Shiro Oni Art Center, we will drink and dance before the costumes become a part of the exhibition.
The exhibition: 未踏の領域
The title 'Beyond the Pale' refers to a historical idiom used to describe certain territories as unsafe and beyond the reach of authority. A region of different morality, behavior, or judgment, as those 'beyond the pale' were outside of rules and proper norms. However, this upcoming exhibition is not about morality, it is about the unknown and how we judge those things.
Because Onishi is different. A place named after a stone-throwing demon evokes images of strength and resilience. The term oni 鬼was once used to describe those who were alien or unfamiliar to the dominant culture. Further research in the towns legend and history reveal several interwoven layers of cultural displacement and ecological change.
The exhibition 'Beyond the Pale' will take place in a former sake brewery that is currently being converted into the Shiro Oni Art Centre. This spacious area is a creative hub, hosted by Kjell Hahn, founder of the Shiro Oni Studio and residency program.
For the curated exhibition Beyond the Pale, we are looking for artworks that evoke mystery, explore the unknown, and stimulate curiosity. Other than a white cube gallery, we will create a lounge and lively atmosphere for people to explore and get engaged in an ambience of mystery with moments of meditation and culinary retreats. A series of improvisational actions and performative installations, using multiple senses, will blend poetry, bodily movement, visuals and sound to invite the audience to participate.
We envision the project as a dynamic and collaborative experiment, where authors, dancer, visual artists, musician, and the public collectively evolve the spatial setting over the course of time. Artists as inventors and tour guides will lead the audience through fictional spaces to sharpen their perception of reality.
かんな：群馬県藤岡市鬼石周辺地域・埼玉県児玉郡神川町神泉周辺地域
山々に囲まれ、碧緑の清流・神流川を挟んだ鬼石と神泉。ここは不思議と芸術家が集う魅惑の地でもあります。縄文時代から人々が住み、鬼が住まい、人は馬を飼い慣らし、遠くから人々の往来があり、古くから現在にいたる数々の移住があり、隠れキリシタンの言い伝えもあり・・・
この魅惑のかくれ里で生まれた、「かんな秋のアート祭り」を今年も開催いたします。川を挟んで隣り合うこの地には「鬼石」「神泉」と、「鬼」と「神」とがその名に含まれます。この地でよく見られる景色─山々から雲が生まれるその姿に、まさに鬼と神とのあらわれを見るようです。
この地の芸術家たちが織り成し、懐かしくも美しい風土に立ちあらわれる「鬼・神・風・土」をたしかめに、神流川流れる鬼・神の里へ、どうぞお出かけください。
Kanna: Area around Onishi, Fujioka City, Gunma Prefecture; Area
around Kamiizumi, Kamikawa Town, Kodama District, Saitama Prefecture
Surrounded by mountains, Onishi and Kamiizumi that draws between the clear green stream of the Kanna River.
This is also a fascinating place where artists gather mysteriously.
People have lived here since the Jomon period, onis (demons) dwell here, people have tamed horses, people have traveled here from far away, there have been numerous migrations from ancient times to the present, and there are also legends of hidden Christians...
The Kanna Autumn Art Festival, born in this enchanting hidden village, will be held again this year. The names of the neighboring towns across the river, Onishi and Kamiizumi, contain the words “oni” (demon) and “kami” (god). The scenery often seen in this area, with clouds rising from the mountains, seems to be the manifestation of demons and gods.
Come and experience the “Oni, Kami, Wind, and Land” woven by the artists of this region, which appear in the nostalgic and beautiful landscape. Please visit the village of Oni and Kami, where the Kanna River flows.