naoshima – an art island
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 06:00 
our time at miyajima was followed by a visit to another island – naoshima. this was a very different experience – naoshima is an art island.
naoshima was one of david and my favourite places, and i really wished we’d had more time to explore both it and some of the other art islands in the seto inland sea.
naoshima is largely funded by the benesse foundation and the art projects were initiated as way to breathe new life into an island with a declining economy and population. today it is home to a number of museums and galleries as well as many wonderful pieces of public art, some of the first of which you see are the wonderful spotty pumpkins which have been created by yayoi kusama.
if you have the chance to visit naoshima, the place i really recommend you visit is the chichu museum. photography is not allowed inside this wonderful museum but you can see some pictures and learn about it here. built in 2004 it is entirely underground. and yet it is lit entirely by natural light. the design by tadao ando, who has also built other buildings on the island, is inspiring, breathtaking and provocative - he will tease and charm you as you explore and encounter the artworks it contains.



















