Echigo-Tsumari Art Field

The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale began in 2000 in a rice-farming district of Niigata that was losing its population fast, and the premise was that art should be sited in the villages, terraces and abandoned buildings rather than in a gallery. Works spread over roughly 760 square kilometres - a scale that means seeing them requires a car and a plan, and that many are a long way from each other. Permanent pieces include the House of Light by James Turrell, where the roof opens onto the sky and visitors can stay overnight; Christian Boltanski's installations in a closed school; Kabakov's Rice Field, whose figures line up with a poem when viewed from one platform; and a museum by Hiroshi Hara with a water-mirrored courtyard. Many works are made with the villages themselves. Snow country here means several metres of it and much of the field is closed in winter.

What you actually see

• Work in abandoned buildings - closed schools and empty houses used as sites.
• The House of Light - a Turrell room whose roof opens to the sky, bookable overnight.
• The Rice Field - Kabakov figures aligning with a poem from one viewing platform.
• Scale as the difficulty - works spread over 760 square kilometres of farmland.

When to go

May to October; triennale summers for the full programme. Two to three days.

Honest expectations

A car is essential and the driving between works is substantial. Many pieces are open only in the triennale year or in season. Winter snow closes most of the field. Ticketing is a mixture of pass and per-site fees.

Nearby

Kiyotsu Gorge is south; Hoshitoge terraces are north-west.