The Aichi Triennale has announced details of its upcoming sixth edition, set to run from 13 September to 30 November 2025.
Led by Hoor Al Qasimi as artistic director, the exhibition is entitled A Time Between Ashes and Roses and explores narratives and theories surrounding the fluid relationship between the environment and human beings, the potential for creativity arising from this relationship and alternative futures. The title is drawn from a verse by the modernist poet Adonis, written in the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War: “How can withered trees blossom? / A time between ashes and roses is coming / When everything shall be extinguished / When everything shall begin again.”
The curatorial team consists of Iida Shihoko as head of curatorial; Irizawa Masaaki, curator at Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, as curator (contemporary art); performing arts producer Nakamura Akane as curator (performing arts); architect Tsuji Takuma as curator (learning); Ishikura Toshiaki, associate professor at Akita Public Art University, and Cho Sunhye, curator at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, as curatorial advisors.
Artists confirmed to participate include Dala Nasser, Adrián Villar Rojas, Ogawa Machiko and Oki Junko. The full artist list will be announced at a later date.
The 2025 iteration features special collaborations with Seto City and the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum, which will examine Japanese crafts in their traditional and modern manifestations.
Hoor Al Qasimi said: “Our hope for the 2025 Aichi Triennale is to create spaces for dialogue around our shared planet that move with urgency and a commitment to new horizons of ecological and interpersonal relation. Achieving a balance of perspectives from internationally-based and Japanese artists as well as collectives, the works on view will propose alternative futures that decenter human modes of extraction and illuminate the complex relationships between Earth and its inhabitants.”
The Aichi Triennale 2025 will take place at various locations across the prefecture, including the Aichi Arts Center and the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art.
