The first Yokohama International Triennale of Contemporary Art was held in 2001 in the Exhibition Hall of Pacifico Yokohama, at the historic Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Number 1 and at various other venues within Yokohama City. Approximately 100 artists from all over the world exhibited their works, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, films and installations. The Triennale also involved a number of events and programmes including symposia and workshops with a view to promoting mutual understanding and dialogue amongst the public, artistic audiences and artists, both from Japan and from abroad.

The second International Triennale of 2005 built on the success of 2001 and featured the work of around 80 participating international and Japanese artists exhibiting in and around the main venue - Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse Number 1. It offered an alternative to the conventional style of art exhibition in which the observer simply looks at the works, instead providing a dialogue-based exhibition in which the barrier between the observer and the exhibitor is transcended, with the observer present during the artist creative process and being able to actually experience the work. There was an emphasis on 'involvement with the site', enabling people to encounter art realised through initiatives such as home-stays by artists and also by featuring participation-based art. The public had the opportunity to view or be involved in the artist's creative process while much of the work underwent change as a result of interaction with the community (works-in-progress). The 2005 Triennale also included movie screenings, community workshops on theatre and other art-related topics, and events such as symposia and gallery lectures to encourage interaction between art and the community.