In addition to the programs at the six main venues, there will be over 20 events across the City of Sapporo. This will include collaborative programs with local facilities and organizations, and future themed open-call programs such as exhibits and concerts, all to build additional excitement for the festival.
*The Ainu sub-theme Upaste is derived from “upas,” which means “snow” in the Ainu language. The sub-theme carries the meaning of “running together into the future while we recognize one another.”
Open Call Projects
| Category | Exhibition, Performance, Workshop |
| Event Title | THE ICEMANS 2024 in TENJINYAMA |
| Date(s) | Production/Exhibition: Thursday, January 18 – Sunday, January 28, 2024 *Date of production may be changed in the event of adverse weather conditions Workshop: TBC |
| Venue(s) | Sapporo Tenjinyama Art Studio |
| Organizer(s) | THE ICEMANS |
| Artist(s) | Alidad KASHANI, HITSUJIYA Shirotama, MIYAZAKI Wataru, TAKENAKA Hirohiko, UENO Kanako |
| Category | Exhibition, Film Screening, Sales Event |
| Event Title | Just a bit of Momentum can Transform the Future |
| Date(s) | Saturday, January 20 – Saturday, February 24, 2024 11:00-19:00 Closed on Sundays, Mondays, February 13 (Tuesday) |
| Venue(s) | niiiwa gallery |
| Organizer(s) | niiiwa Co., Ltd |
| Artist(s) | niiiwa Newspaper Editorial Team, Children |
| Category | Exhibition, Painting |
| Event Title | MAYA MAXX with YOU |
| Date(s) | Saturday, January 20 – Sunday, February 25, 2024 10:00-18:00 (Closes at 16:00 on last day of exhibition) Closed on Tuesdays |
| Venue(s) | Café ＆ Gallery Sarouhoumura |
| Organizer(s) | Café ＆ Gallery Sarouhoumura |
| Artist(s) | MAYA MAXX |
| Category | Interactive Art Event |
| Event Title | Wishing on a Snow: Our Future |
| Date(s) | Saturday, January 20 – Sunday, February 25, 2024 10:00-19:00 |
| Venue(s) | Daimarufujii Central, Main Entrance |
| Organizer(s) | Daimarufujii Central |
| Category | Photography, Exhibition, Workshop, Talk Event |
| Event Title | Photo Exhibition: Future is in the past |
| Date(s) | Saturday, January 20 – Sunday, February 25, 2024 10:00-19:00 Closed on Wednesday, February 14 |
| Venue(s) | Former Residence of Nagayama Takeshiro and Former Dormitory for Mitsubishi Mining Company |
| Organizer(s) | Former Residence of Nagayama Takeshiro with Class of Prof. Kon, Sapporo Otani University |
| Artist(s) | AKAGAWA Ayano, FUJIMOTO Haruka, HATAE Toshiaki, IMAIZUMI Natsumi, INADA Kenta, KATAKAWA Yuika, KATO Mimu, KON Yoshinori, MINAMI Arisa, MOKKO Shiori, NARAOKA Misa, NASHIKI Mana, OHASHI Rin, OHASHI Tetsuro, SAKAI Koji, SAKAI Manami, SUGIO Hana, SUZUKI Ryoko, TSUYUGUCHI Keiji |
| Category | Photography, Exhibition |
| Event Title | Dive into the Microcosmos in Ice |
| Date(s) | Thursday, January 25 – Sunday, January 28, 2024 10:30-18:00 |
| Venue(s) | MaShu Jingu no mori Second Floor Gallery |
| Organizer(s) | MIURA Atsuko |
| Artist(s) | MIURA Atsuko |
| Category | Contemporary Art, Exhibition, Talk Event |
| Event Title | Two solo exhibitions presented by CAI03 and GALLERY MoNMA CAI03: Shiro Masuyama solo exhibition: Talking to the Animals in the End of the World GALLERY MoNMA: Ryusuke Ito solo exhibition: Giggling Mirages |
| Date(s) | CAI03: Saturday, January 20 – Sunday, February 25th, 2024 13:00-19:00 Closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays GALLERY MoNMA: Sunday, January 21 – Sunday, February 25, 2024 12:00-18:00 Closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays |
| Venue(s) | CAI03 and GALLERY MoNMA |
| Organizer(s) | CAI Institute of Contemporary Art/CAI03 + GALLERY MoNMA |
| Artist(s) | CAI03: Shiro MASUYAMA (Talk Event Guest: Taro AMANO) GALLERY MoNMA: Ryusuke ITO |
| Category | Outdoor Sporting Event |
| Event Title | Mini Ski Jump Competition Sapporo 2024 |
| Date(s) | Saturday, February 3, 2024 10:00-14:00 |
| Venue(s) | Midoriyama Ski Slope in Makomanai Midorimachi Housing Complex |
| Organizer(s) | Makomanai Midorimachi Housing Complex Management Association |
| Guest(s) | Ski jump personnel (TBC) |
| Category | Exhibition, Workshop, Talk Event, Sales Event |
| Event Title | LAST DRIVE: Connecting Legacy to the Future |
| Date(s) | Friday, January 26 – Sunday (National Holiday), February 11, 2024 Weekdays: 9:00-21:00 Saturdays, Sundays, National Holidays: 9:00-18:00 |
| Venue(s) | SAPPORO Incubation Hub DRIVE |
| Organizer(s) | SAPPORO Incubation Hub DRIVE |
| Artist(s) / Guest(s) | Mural: Natte Space: Hitomin, michiaki, IGARASHIi Shinichiro Guests:YAMADA Masafumi and more |
| Category | Musical Event, Stage Show, Performance |
| Event Title | INTEG’Lab Live: New Dimensions of Music and Space / Live Electronics Today |
| Date(s) | Monday, February 5, 2024 18:30-20:20 |
| Venue(s) | Creative Studio (Sapporo Community Plaza Third Floor) |
| Organizer(s) | INTEG’Lab / Hokkaido University of Education |
| Artist(s) | IRIKAWA Sho (Percussion), IWATA Mayumi (Piano), KAWAGUCHI Akira (Flute), TSURUTA Maki (Trumpet), KITAZUME Hiromichi (Electronics) |
| Category | Media Arts, Exhibition |
| Event Title | Hokkaido Railroad Track x Media Arts Exhibition 2024: Create Hokkaido’s Future from Sapporo! Art has the Power to Create the Future! |
| Date(s) | Monday, February 5 – Thursday, February 22, 2024 10:00-17:00 Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and National Holidays |
| Venue(s) | Hokkaido University of Science, Central Building (E Building) First Floor HUS PLAZA |
| Organizer(s) | Hokkaido University of Science, Research Institute of Northern Regional Community |
| Artist(s) | Faculty members of Department of Media Arts and Design, Faculty of Future Design, Hokkaido University of Science (KOTANI Akihiro et al.), students and more |
| Category | Workshop |
| Event Title | Thinking of a Future Sapporo: Designing with Words! Catchphrase Creation Workshop |
| Date(s) | Saturday, February 17, 2024 Time TBC (Duration expected to be ~3 hours) |
| Venue(s) | Sapporo Business HUB |
| Organizer(s) | IKEHATA Kosuke |
| Teacher | IKEHATA Kosuke |
| Category | Stage Show |
| Event Title | 21st AAF Drama Award Winning Performance: The Chicks would be Dead if they were Salmon |
| Date(s) | Thursday, February 22, 2024, 19:30 Friday (National Holiday), February 23, 2024, 14:00 |
| Venue(s) | ConCarino |
| Organizer(s) | Yubiwa Hotel, Hokkaido Arts Foundation, Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater |
| Artist(s) | Playwright: MORIYASU Kuniko Director: HITSUJIYA Shirotama Performers: KANBE Hiroshi, ENDO Mai, Rinnosuke, SUZUEDA Fusako, TASAKA Tetsuro |
Collaborative Projects
| Category | Exhibition |
| Event Title | Special feature: THE SNOWFLAKES |
| Date(s) | Saturday, December 9, 2023 – Sunday, March 24, 2024 9:30-17:00 (Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time) Closed on Mondays (Open on Mondays if they fall on a National Holiday or substitute holiday, and closed the next weekday instead), New Year’s holidays (December 29 – January 3) |
| Venue(s) | Tomakomai City Museum (Exhibition Room 3, Courtyard Exhibition Space) |
| Organizer(s) | Tomakomai City Museum |
| Outline | THE SNOWFLAKES, a four-member artist collective formed in Shiraoi in 2020 by NARA Yoshitomo, KUNIMATSU Kineta, KOSUKEGAWA Hiroyasu, and OKUYAMA Misae, will present a new installation which makes use of beach debris as art materials. |
| URL | Official Site |
| Category | Exhibition |
| Event Title | Special Exhibition: Contemporary AINU ART And Crafts 2024 |
| Date(s) | Saturday, January 13 – Wednesday, March 10, 2024 9:30-17:00 (Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time) Closed on Mondays (Open on Mondays if they fall on a National Holiday or substitute holiday, and closed the next weekday instead) |
| Venue(s) | Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art |
| Organizer(s) | Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, The Foundation for Ainu Culture |
| Outline | This exhibition examines the creative power of Ainu art, notable for its diversity and design sensibility, based on moreu, a spiral shape that is one of the characteristics of Ainu patterns. Along with recent and new works by Kaizawa Toru, Nishida Kayoko, Fujito Kohei, and others, the exhibition presents outstanding woodwork and textiles made by the artists’ forebears. |
| URL | Official Site |
| Category | Exhibition |
| Event Title | Sapporo Snow Sculpture Exhibition 2024 |
| Date(s) | Friday, January 26 – Sunday, January 28, 2024 10:00-18:00 (illumination from around 16:00) |
| Venue(s) | Hongo Shin Memorial Museum of Sculpture Sapporo (Front courtyard) |
| Organizer(s) | Sapporo Snow Sculpture Exhibition Executive Committee, Hongo Shin Memorial Museum of Sculpture Sapporo (Sapporo Cultural Arts Foundation) |
| Outline | Sculptors, modeling artists, and art students active in Sapporo will create snow sculptures overflowing with originality that make the most of snow’s unique characteristics, exhibiting them to the public for three days only. |
| URL | Official Site (*Japanese only) |
| Category | Exhibition |
| Event Title | 11th Sapporo Odori 500-m Underground Walkway Gallery Award |
| Date(s) | Saturday, January 27 – Wednesday, March 27, 2024 7:30-22:00 |
| Venue(s) | Sapporo Odori 500-m Underground Walkway Gallery |
| Organizer(s) | City of Sapporo |
| Outline | A competition for contemporary artwork and project plans that utilize the two glass cases (24m in length) in the 500-m Underground Walkway Gallery. SIAF2024 Director OGAWA Hideaki will participate as a special judge for the final round of judging. |
| URL | Official Site (*Japanese only) |
| Category | Exhibition |
| Event Title | IEIE, Reflected: Phase 4 Virtual Ground |
| Date(s) | Saturday, February 17 – Sunday, February 18, 2024 10:00-17:00 (TBC) |
| Venue(s) | VR Theater, Hokkaido University Faculty of Engineering |
| Organizer(s) | S.I.D.E. Project (SIAF LAB. + NAKAI You + MYOKAM Hiroko) / Hokkaido University CoSTEP (Communication in Science & Technology Education & Research Program)) |
| Outline | “Island Eye Island Ear” is an unfinished plan for a concert work proposed 50 years ago by David Tudor and Fujiko Nakaya among others, with a goal of turning an entire isolated island into a musical instrument. The SIAF Lab team has been searching for an island in Hokkaido to bring the project to life, and footage of their concert rehearsal in Kamome Island, Esashi, will be shown as a VR work in a 360-degree VR theater with a diameter of 8 meters. |
| URL | Official Site (*Japanese only) |
and more