Rokko Meets Art is a contemporary art festival held every fall on Mt. Rokko in Kobe. Since the festival was launched in 2010, more than 470 groups of artists have taken part in the event. This year, the 14th edition, the festival will be reborn as Rokko Meets Art 2023 beyond.
Theme: Beyond Representation
Beyond Representation
Living as we do in an era in which it is necessary to maintain close ties to a diversified world, it is important to consider what kind of attitude we should take when encountering different values, cultures, and methodologies.
By presenting and reinterpreting new values free from the constraints of existing values, we strive to be an art festival that focuses on the works of artists who are attempting to connect and coexist with society and the future.
General Director/Curator: Kiyotaka TAKAMIZAWA
New Initiatives for 2023
1Increasing the number of invited artists
The number of invited artists will be increased, including both those artists who are active in Japan and overseas.
2Maintaining a base as a symbol of the festival, and displaying some artworks for an extended period.
A new area for outdoor artworks will be established at the Rokko Musical Box Museum & Gardens MORINONE. Some of these works will remain on display after the end of the exhibition period, creating a venue for art appreciation that continues on after the festival.
3Installing a new trail area
A trail route will be created to enable visitors to enjoy the artworks as they make their way through the area, making viewing on foot better than ever before.
4Creating opportunities for children to interact with art
Through participatory programs such as workshops, we will increase the opportunities for children to come into contact with contemporary art in a natural setting, and nurture the next generation of leaders and supporters of art and culture.
Event Overview
- Date
Sat., August 26 to Thu., November 23 (nat. hol.), 2023
Note: Only the Rokkosan Silence Resort will be closed on Mondays between August and October (except when Monday falls on a national holiday, in which case the museum is closed the following day).
- Hours
10:00-17:00
Note: Hours vary from venue to venue. A portion of the artworks can be viewed after 17:00.
- Exhibition Venues
- Rokko Musical Box Museum & Gardens MORINONE
- Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden
- Rokko Garden Terrace Area
- Rokko Cable Car & Bus
(Rokko Cable Shita Station, Sanjo Station, and Tenran Observatory) - Trail Area
- Chapel of the Wind Area
- Sancho Station, Rokko-Arima Ropeway
- Hyogo Prefectural Mt. Rokko Visitor Center （Memorial Monument）
- Rokkosan Silence Resort (foremerly, the Mt. Rokko Hotel)
- General Director
／Curator Kiyotaka TAKAMIZAWA
- Sponsored by
the Rokko Cable Car & Tourism Company and Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
- Co-sponsored by
the Rokko & Maya Tourism Promotion Council
- With special cooperation and support from
Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.
As of June 8, 2023
Information on the Festival's Main Visual Image
Partial Development Pattern of the Festival Logo
Photo: Go ITAMI Logo: Ayaka Sanuki
Art direction: Kenta SHIBANO (LIVE Art Books Inc.)
Kobe is a city that is distinguished by features that are absent from most other cities. The cityscape gently connects to a long, narrow piece of terrain that stretches between the sea and the mountains.
For the main visual image in this festival, I set out to rediscover the charms of Mt. Rokko, which serves as the stage for this festival, as well as the charms of the city of Kobe, which serves as home to the mountain.
At the same time, I thought the image should be a decentralizing entity rather than playing a strong leading role. This is due to the fact that we live in an era of diverse artistic expressions and ways of interacting with viewers, and that the art festival format is based on a scattering of works displayed in various venues.
As everything in Go Itami’s photographs, from the sea to the mountains, appears in perfect focus, I set out to create my image by flattening the hierarchy between the foreground and the background in the place that I stood and creating the sensation that Mt. Rokko was both close and large.
The logo, designed by the artist Ayaka Sanuki, consists of a mountain motif with the word “beyond” climbing up and down it. As there are many different patterns rather than a single one, it expresses the attitude of the festival as a place for people with various images of Mt. Rokko and numerous artists from a host of regions and backgrounds to gather, and a place where a diverse range of expressions and visitors are welcome.
It is my hope that the main visual image, intended to convey the idea that the theme of the festival, “beyond expression,” is expanding through the framework of the city, has a fresh appearance, both for those who are familiar with Mt. Rokko and those who are not.
Kenta SHIBANO
Art Director
The Charms of the Rokoo Sanjo Facilities
Board the Rokko Cable Car at Rokko Cable Shita Station, the gateway to Mt. Rokko, and sit back and relax as you take the ten-minute trip to the top of the mountain. The observatory facilities, scattered around the area at an altitude of between 730 to 880 meters above sea level, boast dynamic views that are wholly unique to Mt. Rokko, due to its proximity to the urban center of Kobe. By taking advantage of the fact that the temperature on the mountain is generally 5 or 6 degrees Celsius lower than it is in the city, the Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden cultivates alpine plants from around the world as well as those that are native to Mt. Rokko. A wide range of facilities accentuate the charms of Mt. Rokko, including the ROKKO Forest Sound Museum, where you can savor pleasant music not only in the concert room but also in the spacious garden, and the Rokko Garden Terrace, where you can enjoy dining and shopping as you take in the spectacular view.
PICK UP
Rokko Musical Box Museum & Gardens MORINONE
Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden
Rokko Garden Terrace Area
Rokko Cable Car & Bus
Information on Mt. Rokko and Kobe
Kobe, a city that looks out over the Seto Inland Sea, is located in southeastern Hyogo Prefecture.
Kobe’s modern urban culture began with the opening of Kobe Port in the late 19th century. The city continued to develop, driven by an environment that nurtured culture through, among other things, the construction of foreign settlements and the opening of a government-operated railroad running between Kobe and Osaka.
In addition to urban culture, Kobe is blessed with a scenic mountain range in close proximity to the city, making the area extremely popular with local residents since ancient times.
Mt. Rokko, the mountain that epitomizes Kobe, emerged as a destination for leisure activities in the early 20th century, due to the efforts of the British businessman A.H. Groom and others.
Vories Rokko Sanso, a masterpiece of mountain villa architecture, and the Kobe Golf Club, Japan’s oldest golf course, provide a glimpse of the area’s luxurious pastimes.
The creation of a cable-car line that provides easy access to the top of the mountain, and the opening of a botanical garden and other outdoor facilities that make the most of the expansive natural environment continue to make Mt. Rokko one of Japan’s most beloved resort areas.
