The ars●bit Project and the Ritsumeikan University Research Center for Game Studies (RCGS) will host the international symposium “Reflecting on Game-Playing Society: From the Interface Between ‘Play’ and ‘Art’” on Sunday, May 17th, 2026, at Ritsumeikan University’s Kinugasa Campus.
This symposium is a companion event to the contemporary art and indie game exhibition “art bit #6: Game-Playing Society,” which opens the previous day, May 16th, at Hotel Anteroom Kyoto. Centered on international artists and collaborators participating in the exhibition, leading artists, curators, and researchers from Japan and abroad who are pioneering the fusion of art and game technology will gather to discuss the future of games, society, and art.
Toward an Era Where Games “Sculpt” Society
The concept of “play” as the essence of humanity—as once proposed by historian Johan Huizinga—has not only converged with modern technology to give rise to a massive digital gaming industry, but is also spawning new economic spheres and sociocultural phenomena, such as the creator economy driven by game engines and esports.
In this symposium, we propose a vision that views this situation as a civilizational shift comparable to the Renaissance—which pioneered a human-centered modern civilization by drawing inspiration from classical antiquity—and frame it as a “Ludo Renaissance,” in which all living beings are connected through a re-examination of the universality of “play.”
Using the concept of “social sculpture” proposed by artist Joseph Beuys as a guiding framework, we will explore the potential of a future where play and art are implemented into society through the power of games—a “Game-Playing Society”—across three sessions.
Daichi Nakagawa, representing the creator support project 〈ars●bit〉—which engages in cross-disciplinary work across all cultural fields centered on play and games—and serving as the concept supervisor for the art bit exhibition, will present the overarching framework. He will introduce the cross-disciplinary journey of art and games through the art bit exhibition and the art●bit project that emerged from it, while also explaining the background of the “Game-Playing Society” theme from the intersection of art criticism and game studies.
Additionally, as the opening act, a hands-on demo of the multiplayer cooperative game The White Anteroom—produced and performed by creators nurtured by the ars●bit project at the EXPO2025 OSAKA,KANSAI,JAPAN—will be presented. This will set the stage for the symposium’s discussion, including an explanation of the work by members of the development team.
For the keynote address, we have invited Kazuhiko Hachiya, a media artist and professor in the Game and Interactive Art Department of the Graduate School of Film and New Media at Tokyo University of the Arts, which was established this academic year. Drawing on his experience as a leading figure in Japanese media art, he will offer his perspective on how creative work at the intersection of art and games can lead to social implementation and social transformation.
In the first half [Session 1], we will feature presentations and discussions led by curators of various art-and-game exhibitions invited from overseas.
Panelists include Leeji Hong, curator of “Game Society” (2023) at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), which examined the multifaceted impact of video game aesthetics on contemporary art and society; Lee Chia Lin, guest curator of “A-Real Enginee” (2023) at the Taipei Digital Art Festival (DAF) and other venues, which explored the potential of video games as an engine driving digital culture; and Vincent Moncho, who has been at the helm of “Festival Octobre Numérique” in Arles, France—an event focusing on cutting-edge technology, art, and culture since 2021.
Building on introductions to the exhibitions they have curated, the panelists will discuss the critical perspectives through which global art-and-game exhibitions have addressed the boundaries between play/games and art.
In the second half [Session 2], artists exhibiting at art bit will present and discuss how they create works at the intersection of art and games.
The panelists include Mélanie Courtinat, who explores immersive narrative experiences in virtual spaces using VR and game engines; Vincent Moulinet, whose work reconfigures game mechanics as social and allegorical devices; Bae Sang Hyun, who creates avant-garde art games while actively engaging with the game industries in South Korea and Japan; and Kamiena, a director of the GameArt Project “CÔGEIMU”—a project under the ars●bit initiative that seeks to pioneer a new frontier at the intersection of metalworking and video games.
They will discuss how they perceive issues surrounding art and games, as well as the global landscape, and how they address these within their respective creative concepts.
In the final [Session 3], all speakers will engage in an open discussion exploring the possibilities of the overarching theme, “Game-Playing Society.”
While information technology connects the world and enables people across the globe to share common gaming experiences, its negative aspects are increasingly fueling the rise of authoritarianism, driving division and conflict among people, and even spreading the horrors of war across the globe.
We hope to explore together how expressions that transcend the boundaries between art and games can address this situation and help create a new ideal for humanity.
Event Overview
Title: International Symposium “Reflecting on Game-Playing Society: From the Interface Between Play and Art”
Date and Time: Sunday, May 17th, 2026, 1:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Doors open at 12:00 PM *Visitors can try out the opening exhibition game
Venue: Sōshikan Conference Room, Kinugasa Campus, Ritsumeikan University
Admission: Free
Languages: Consecutive interpretation in Japanese and English will be provided
Organizers: ars●bit / Shibuya Asobi-ba Production Committee, Ritsumeikan University Research Center for Game Studies (RCGS)
Supported by: Japan Creator Support Fund
Program Outline
12:00–1:00 PM
[Opening Exhibition] The White Anteroom
Developed by: Yo Tomura, Ryoya Usuba, HSP99, mamamama(Shin)
Work Overview:
An interactive game installation designed as an interpretation of Ken Liu’s science fiction short story “Mono no Aware,” set aboard an intergenerational spaceship. Developed over two days by four creators to serve as an interlude and “Anteroom” during a new Kyogen performance based on the story at the EXPO2025 OSAKA,KANSAI,JAPAN.
By scanning the QR code distributed on the day of the event, visitors can participate as crew members. By operating the “Irososhiki” projected on the front screen together with other crew members, its movements will change. Please use your hands to repair some holes in the white space. The sounds born from this drifting will resonate, weaving a single story. We invite you to experience this during the intermission of the symposium.
1:00 PM – 1:50 PM
[ Introduction] From Ludo Renaissance to Game-Playing Society: The Past and Future of the ars●bit Project
About the Opening Exhibition: The White Anteroom
Introduction: Daichi Nakagawa (Critic, Editor / Concept Supervisor for art bit)
Keynote Lecture: Kazuhiko Hachiya (Media Artist, Professor at Tokyo University of the Arts)
1:50 PM – 3:30 PM
[Session 1] The Cutting Edge of Global Art × Game Exhibitions
Speakers: Leeji Hong (Curator, MMCA), Lee Chia Lin (Independent Curator), Vincent Moncho (Curator)
(Break)
3:45 PM – 5:25 PM
[Session 2] Challenges for Future Art × Game Expression
Speakers: Mélanie Courtinat (Artist), Vincent Moulinet (Artist), Bae Sang Hyun (Artist/Game Creator), Kamiena (Game Creator)
(Break)
5:40 PM – 6:30 PM
[Session 3] Panel Discussion & Q&A: How Can “Game-Playing Society” Resist Global Division?
Moderators: Daichi Nakagawa + Yasuyuki Toyokawa (Manager, Hotel Anterum Kyoto / Chief Curator, art bit)
Related Event: Exhibition “art bit #6: Game-Playing Society”
Title: art bit – Contemporary Art & Indie Game Culture – #6
Dates: Saturday, May 16, 2026 – Sunday, July 12, 2026, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Reception & Workshop: Saturday, May 16, 2026 (Sat)
Venue: Hotel Anteroom Kyoto GALLERY 9.5
Admission: Free
Organizers: Hotel Anteroom Kyoto, Skelton Crew Studio Co., Ltd., ars●bit / Shibuya Asobiba Production Committee
Supported by: Japan Creator Support Fund