Holding space for contemporary art

Conversation and transparency are key ingredients to selling sometimes controversial contemporary art, as Japan's experience shows

- Ong Sor Fern Arts Editor

Contemporary art often challenges conventions and courts controversy.

But since the 1990s, countries have latched on to contemporary arts festivals as a means of powering economic growth and urban renewal. Singapore, too, jumped on the biennale bandwagon in 2006. The event returns from Oct 31 to March 29, 2026.

But Japan seems to have cracked the code for a winning formula, with biennales and triennales generating billion-yen revenues in tourism while rejuvenating both urban and rural communities.

The Aichi Triennale, which opened on Sept 12, is one of at least 10 such large-scale contemporary arts events crowding Japan's arts calendar. But it has also experienced the pitfalls of trying to harness the unpredictable energies of contemporary art to institutional goals often dictated by organisations beholden to political rather than artistic considerations.

The 2025 triennale drew a small group of people using the event to protest the Aichi-Israel Matching Program, which links the prefecture's companies with Israeli startups. At the Aichi Arts Center after the opening ceremony, a couple of protesters also managed to sneak in to unfurl a banner and shout slogans including "Free Palestine" to a crowd of disconcerted invited guests.

The triennale's Emirati artistic director Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi makes no bones about her support for Palestine, speaking of the "live genocide" and "ethnic cleansing" both at the media conference and the opening ceremony.

Genial and soft-spoken, Ms Hoor, who speaks five languages including Japanese, tells The Straits Times that she has been "outspoken about Palestine since I was a baby", before whipping out her mobile phone to share a photo of herself as a toddler draped in a keffiyeh.

"I have a platform, I have the mic and I'm going to speak out. Otherwise, what am I going to say on stage that matters?" she adds.