Community Projects

In addition to the hotel and museums, Benesse Art Site Naoshima is involved in other activities in the Naoshima region. These activities are introduced here.

Naoshima Rice-Growing Project

The Naoshima Rice-Growing Project is set in the idle rice paddies and fields in the Tsumuura district of Naoshima.
In the 1970s, rice growing largely ceased in Naoshima, but in 2006, in connection with the NAOSHIMA STANDARD 2 exhibition, rice cultivation was reborn. The staff of the Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation, in cooperation with the residents in the area, helped restart rice growing in the area. Their goal was to return the rice paddies, and the act of growing and harvesting rice, back to the everyday life of Naoshima. These efforts continue today.

Cooperation with the Naoshima Noren Project

In 2001, in conjunction with the STANDARD exhibition, the Honmura Noren Project was born.
Dye artist Yoko Kano (Katsuyama, Okayama) was commissioned to create original noren (short cloth curtains hung in the entrance to Japanese shops) to hang from the eaves and doorways of 14 houses in Honmura, Naoshima. In 2004, the Honmura Noren Project Executive Committee (now the Naoshima Noren Project Executive Committee) was established, and every year the members call for the creation and hanging of noren.This activity is carried out mainly by local residents, but Benesse Holdings lends its support as well.