The Beyond Creator Project “ars●bit” is a new-era initiative that transcends all forms of art and entertainment, centered around games and play. Following the kickoff event held in March, the second symposium, “Creating a New Wave in Art × Games: Toward a World Where ‘Play’ and ‘Art’ Converge,” will take place in 12 Aug at “404 Not Found” (Shibuya Sakura Stage 4F) in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, which recently celebrated its first anniversary.
The symposium will explore how to envision a global artistic movement originating from Japan in the core field of art × game, with the participation of new strategist.
■What lies beyond the 2000s’ Superflat, the 2010s’ TeamLab global expansion, and Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan?
Takashi Murakami’s “Superflat,” which reinterprets the history of post-war Japanese pop culture as contemporary art; TeamLab, which leverages Japanese digital technology to expand experiential art facilities worldwide; and Yoichi Ochiai’s “Digital Nature,” currently gaining attention at the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan pavilion—these examples highlight how the intersection of culture, technology, and art has consistently produced stars and movements.
Building on this context and developing it further, what kind of worldview can be created by combining the concepts of game culture and “play” promoted by ars●bit?
We will thoroughly discuss the path to global expansion with TakakuraKazuki, the core artist of ars●bit who actively works across fields in contemporary art and indie games, and Yosuke Takahashi, the curator planning new collaborations including crossover events at the Osaka-Kansai Expo.
■The project’s first major overseas exhibition, “ART BIT MATRIX -TOKSATSU to VIDEOGAME-,” will open in Singapore at the end of August. Looking ahead to European expansion, what can Japanese art and games offer?
In particular, from August 29 to October 19, 2025, the core event of this project, the art and game exhibition “art bit -Contemporary Art & Indie Game Culture-” and the group art exhibition “Character Matrix” curated by TakakuraKazuki will merge into a new group exhibition, “ART BIT MATRIX -TOKSATSU to VIDEOGAME-,” which will be held at MIZUMA GALLERY in Singapore.
This exhibition marks the first major overseas curated exhibition for the ars●bit project, serving as a stepping stone to explore what kind of artistic movement can be envisioned. Drawing inspiration from post-war Japan’s 80-year history of popular culture, from “Godzilla” to “Pokémon,” and the technological history spanning from the atomic bomb to generative AI, the exhibition seeks to reexamine the roots of ‘play’ and “art” through a new exhibition concept that explores Asian and Japanese religious art.
Centered on the vision of “Anima Ludens (Playful Life),” a modern expansion of Johan Huizinga’s “Homo Ludens (Playful Human),” we will discuss what messages Japanese creators and artists can now convey to the world.
■Event Overview
Date: August 12, 2025 (Tue) 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Venue: 404 Not Found
1-4 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0031
Shibuya Sakura Stage SHIBUYA SIDE 4F
3-minute walk from the Shin-Minami Exit of Shibuya Station on the JR Yamanote Line
Admission: Free
Organizers: Shibuya Asobiba Production Committee / 404 Not Found
Supported by:
■Program
◯Moderator:
Takeshi Ishikawa (404 Not Found Producer / Shibuya Asobiba Production Committee Director)
◯Panelists:
Takakurakazuki (Artist / Co-Curator of ART BIT MATRIX)
Yosuke Takahashi (Curator)
Yasutaka Toyokawa (Manager of Hotel Anterum Kyoto / Curator of art bit)
Daichi Nakagawa (Critic / Editor)
Masahiko Murakami (CEO of Skeleton Crew Studio / Representative Director of Shibuya Asobiba Production Committee)
4:00 p.m. 【Session 1】Current Status of the ars●bit Project
~Project overview, art bit #5, DiGRA 2025, visit to Arles, France, etc.~
4:30 p.m. 【Session 2】Roadmap 2025-2026
~Planned exhibition “ART BIT MATRIX,” collaboration plans for EXPO 2025, etc.~
17:00 【Session 3】Joint Discussion: How to Communicate the New Trends in Art × Games to the World?
〜Focusing on the new concept of “Anima Ludens,” where ‘play’ and “art” merge〜
■Inquiries
For any questions regarding this symposium, please contact us via the “404 Not Found” inquiry page.