At the Tokyo University of the Arts “Art Future Research Lab” exhibition, marine debris upcycling artworks are on display.

The Tokyo University of the Arts Museum is currently hosting an exhibition organized by the “Art Future Research Lab,” established by the university as a new foundation for future art research. This exhibition positions art as “The power that enables human life” and explores the future of art through cross-disciplinary collaboration with technology, science, medicine, documentation, and local communities.

The venue showcases practical projects involving diverse participants from both within and outside the university, allowing visitors to visually and experientially understand the process by which art permeates society. The exhibition itself quietly reveals why it is named a “Research space” rather than a “Research institute.”

One such example is an upcycled art piece made from marine debris, exhibited at this year’s Osaka-Kansai Expo booth “Artistic Coastal Village KAGAWA” (created by Mayu Taniguchi, graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts Graduate School / currently AGB).

This work was created using polystyrene foam and discarded fishing nets collected from the coast of Kagawa Prefecture. It combines architectural structural thinking with artistic form to transform marine debris into “Material.”
This project was conducted as part of a collaborative research initiative between our company, Tokyo University of the Arts, Kagawa Prefecture, and Kagawa University. From collecting marine debris to documenting, sculpting, and exhibiting it, many people have been involved.

Following its exhibition at the World Expo, the work was displayed at the Kagawa Prefectural Government Office before coming to the Geidai Museum of Art. Its creation stems from collaborative practices involving the region, the university, and businesses, processes that resonate with the philosophy of the Art Future Research Lab.

Where art connects with social issues and creates new value, it quietly yet undeniably exists. If you’re in the area, please come see for yourself.

▼Exhibition Information
“Reincarnation II” “Buoy Stool” Ocean Waste Upcycling
SIOME Tokyo University of the Arts × Kagawa University Setouchi ART&SCIENCE

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