This is the 6^th year of the Ichihanari Art Project +3. Across the Mid-Sea Road are islands on which the unspoilt landscapes of Okinawa remain preserved even to this day. The most remote of these islands, Ikei Island, was long called “Ichihanari”.

Born on that island, the Ichihanari Art Project +3 aims to revitalize the islands through art, and has spread from Ikei to Miyagi Island, Hamahiga Island, and Henza Island. The event, where visitors can experience culture and art from each island, has seen an increasing number of attendees each year. This year saw a total of around 40 groups of artists who participated from Okinawa, Taiwan, Indonesia, and elsewhere locally and around the world. The islands were decorated with paintings, sculptures, industrial crafts, photographs, video, and other artwork.

Once it was covered in art such as these prints and 30,000 postcards, it was as though a new life had been breathed into the shut-down school.

This is a lodging facility on Ikei Beach painted by Taiwanese artist Agua, who felt that the sun, vegetation, and fish symbolize Ikei Island,

and she used those symbols in her mural.

Walking across the island, art and everyday life exist casually side by side with handmade benches decorating the road and other touches.

If you notice these little works of art, it’s proof of your heightened artistic sensitivities.