Since 2014, Hakuhodo and Ars Electronica have collaborated in the joint project Future Catalysts. To further expand these activities, the two institutions launched a mission driven innovation community named “ARS ELECTRONICA TOKYO Initiative (AETI).”
The term “Initiative” stands for: pioneer, leadership, and first step. AETI will take the mission: “What might we be able to do to create a better Tokyo, furthermore the whole Japanese society?” It aims to co-create ideas that form the future society, with artists, innovators, companies and government and to take actions to implement the ideas into the real society. “Create For Tokyo Together” as its slogan, the team working on innovation generation and drawing future society scenarios through the Art Thinking skills of Ars Electronica and Sei-katsu-sha views, the way of Hakuhodo thinking.
POST CITY @ Shibuya Foto: Hakuhodo / Ars Electronica Futurelab
Ars Electronica Tokyo Initiative Foto: Ars Electronica Tokyo Initiative , Hitoshi Motomura
Tokyo as a laboratory for the future
Tokyo is a future city which embraces the world highest level of human skills, state-of-art technology, and economy. If we were to regard this city as a “laboratory” what kind of creation, exploration or activity will it bring about? By examining the issues this historically large-scaled human test ground “Tokyo” is facing, we are looking for the ideas and knowledges that should be shared throughout the world.
When the initiative was formed, Tokyo was preparing for the global big event Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. At the same time it was on the search journey to find how to change the society where “human beings” can live as “human beings”. Looking for a better work-life-balance, a best way to utilize public space, to promote citizens participation and to create new culture which can co-live with diversity. The initiative not only focused at the year 2020 but onwards – with the plan to empower the citizens creativity under the mission of “Create For Tokyo Together.”
Missions for tomorrow by art x industry
What we mean by the word “Art” is not a decorative presence that we appreciate. “Art” has the power to questions and criticize the society, give the opportunity for the participants to reflect the reality from a different prospective and provide the opportunity to create discussions. At the same time, it has the power to insist the importance of implementing our human being view points and desires rather than just applying the state-of-art to designing products and services. What kind of communication will evolve form having this latest technology? What kind of new rules should we establish? AETI is going to act as the catalyst between the artists, entities and society to find the questions that we may face in the future society and take actions as our mission.
Art Thinking Program for shaping better society
Entities have the gigantic power to shape the society. They are now requested to ask themselves what they should do to pay back to the society. The “Art Thinking Program” led by the AETI questions the commonsense, resets new tasks that will not raise from the traditional companies contexts and create an innovation by multiplying Company culture, history and Future Vision, just like as artists do.
If Art Thinking (Raising questions to the unknown field, cross-questioning the stereotype and expand possibilities) is going to find potentials hidden 2 decades ahead, People Thinking (thinking about how we can create a better human friendly society along with the people) will find the needs a decade ahead and will expand its flexibility through Design Thinking (Expanding new possibilities in the actual world by addressing creative solutions).
Text by Rena Tanaka (Hakuhodo Inc.) + Hideaki Ogawa (Ars Electronica Futurelab)