The Tokyo metropolitan government opened a foothold for digital art in Shibuya Ward in October, providing artists with a place to work on their creative ideas while promoting the Japanese capital as a cultural city.

Civic Creative Base Tokyo, set up near JR Shibuya Station, has studios and a space for workshops and exhibitions on a floor space of some 380 square meters. Tools such as a 3D printer and a laser cutter will be made available in stages.

Digital art includes illustrations drawn using a computer and projection mapping, a technique with which computer graphics are projected onto physical objects like buildings.

The metropolitan government will offer the space to artists it picks for each fiscal year. Among this year’s selections are a team exploring recreational activities using artificial intelligence, an artist involved in a drone show at the opening ceremony of last year’s Tokyo Olympics and an augmented reality project by a video artist.

Each artist or group will be given up to 10 million yen in financial assistance.

The metropolitan government hopes that exhibitions and events at the facility in Shibuya, a town of trends, will help people recognize Tokyo as a cultural city.

A metropolitan government official boasted the initiative as one of the largest support for digital art in Japan. “We hope the facility will help make Tokyo more attractive as a cultural city,” the official said.

It is also considering joining hands with the Shibuya Ward government, which promotes community development using digital art.

JIJI Press