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Obihiro City, the Obihiro Chamber of Commerce, Tokachi Mainichi Newspaper, and the Tokachi International Contemporary Art Exhibition Committee will present International Contemporary Art Exhibition: Demeter in the summer of 2002, commemorating the 120th anniversary of the establishment of Obihiro City and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Obihiro Chamber of Commerce.
Demeter is a goddess in Greek mythology who symbolizes the harvest, fertility, and nurturing. The fertile Tokachi Plain has produced one of the most successful farming areas in Japan. In Demeter, we would like to feature this unique climate and the history of the land through contemporary art, and rediscover the meaning of coexistence between the land and the people. We chose the title of the exhibition, Demeter, from the name of this goddess who well represents the land of Tokachi.




--Main Exhibit--
Demeter is an outdoor international contemporary art exhibition applying "site-oriented installations." Instead of exhibiting prepared works, the artists visit Obihiro and "read" the characteristics of the land and create artworks. It is a process to rediscover the memories of the land and link them to the future. The main exhibition site, Obihiro racetrack, is a Banei racetrack where horses race with sleds carrying as much as one ton on an obstacle course. It is unique to Hokkaido.
Demeter is a contemporary art exhibition that is specific to Tokachi, based on the wisdom of the native Ainu people and the one-hundred-and-twenty-year history of the settlement.

--Demeter Cafe--
Demeter Cafe, on the main site, will be a place for the people of Obihiro, artists, and audience to have coffee together and communicate. It will also function as a general information center for Demeter. Not only the architectural structure, but also the contents, function and management of the cafe will be designed by the collaboration between architects and artists. During the exhibition period, Demeter Cafe will also be used for lectures, workshops, concerts, and parties.

--Shopping Zone--
The Tokachi Plain is known for its livestock and agricultural products. Its clear water is well suited for producing azuki beans, which makes Tokachi famous for its delicious confectionaries. These specialty products, as well as Demeter goods, will be available at the "shopping zone" in the main site.

--Artists--
Shigeaki Iwai (JAPAN)
Ingo Gunther (GERMANY)
Wolfgang Winter&Berthold Hoerbelt(GERMANY)
Yoko Ono (JAPAN)
Casagrande&Rintala(FINLAND)
Tadashi Kawamata (JAPAN)
Kim Sooja (KOREA)
Cai Guo Qiang (CHINA)
Cine Nomad (GERMANY, SWITZERLAND)
Masato Nakamura + Kenta Kishi + Haruaki Tanaka (JAPAN)




Demeter Office.
4F Minami-9, Nishi-3, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8711, JAPAN
Tel:0155-27-2002 Fax:0155-27-2005 e-mail:demeter@demeter.jp

Organized by:
Obihiro City,the Obihiro Chamber of Commerce,the Tokachi Mainichi Newspaper and Tokachi International Contemporary Art Exhibition Committee

Directed by:
Takashi Serizawa, P3 art and environment




Obihiro racetrack, which was selected for the exhibition site for Demeter, is a place that profoundly suggests the relationship between people and horses in the Tokachi area of Hokkaido. The "Banei racing" held in the Obihiro racetrack in winter is not merely an entertainment but a reminder of the people settling this land with horses. There is an immense stable area spread to the west of the huge concrete structure of stand and racetrack. Still, there lingers a memory trace of the old Obihiro settlement. Further to the west, in Nishimachi Park, right next to the Racetrack, are the remnants of the primeval forest of Obihiro. Thus, visitors to Demeter will go back in time as they walk toward the west. The experience of going west in Demeter is a trip beyond time and space.




Exhibition Period: Saturday, July 13 - Monday, September 23, 2002
Opening Hours: 9:00-18:00 (7/13-8/24, Friday and Saturday, 9:00-21:00)





The Demeter ticket is good for any two days (consecutive or not). The tickets also give the holders discounts for the Sakamoto Chokko Memorial Museum, Aihara Kyuichiro Museum of Art, Kanda Nissho Memorial Museum of Art, sponsoring restaurants, and other services.




The lectures by the artists invited to Demeter will be held in Obihiro and other places from time to time before the opening of the exhibition.