Exhibitions Related to the International Art Exhibition TOKYO ATLAS Next Creation Program Visual Arts Creation Program “Fantasista: Expressing Marine Creatures” Marine Creatures made from discarded acrylic partitions

We will implement a program that aims to cultivate the talents that children will need in the future through the creation of art and design works.
We value a creative approach to tackling challenges without predetermined answers, fostering the ability to move forward positively into the future.
At the aquarium, participants will learn about marine life through hands-on experiences and create sketches and original artwork. They will then color acrylic partitions featuring transfers of their original artwork, using this as an opportunity to develop a personal connection to the issue of marine plastic waste.

As part of the “Fantasista: Expressing Marine Creatures” program, we held a couple of workshops with the aim of creating an opportunity for children to see the richness and beauty of the ocean, as well as the issues it currently faces, as something personally relevant to them. With the support of Soichi Ueda from Think the Earth, the children encountered marine creatures and expressed what they felt and discovered through art.
The program was organized in collaboration with Tokyo Sea Life Park and Sunshine Aquarium. On the first day, the children took part in an observation session, learning about the characteristics and ecology of marine creatures from experts before sketching the creatures that caught their interest. Their drawings were then digitized by students of Tama Art University. Acrylic partitions that had been used during the COVID-19 pandemic were repurposed and laser-cut into silhouettes of the creatures based on the children’s original drawings. Materials that would otherwise have been discarded were thus upcycled into new materials for creative expression.
On the second day, the children colored the cut-out acrylic panels using oil-based colored pencils. Working with a limited palette of just 12 colors, they let their imaginations run free as they expressed the colors and patterns of the creatures. A lecture was also given by Motoko Kawaguchi, who works to address the issue of marine plastic pollution on Tsushima. Through the lecture, the children learned more about the marine environment.
Through these experiences, the program aimed to encourage children to look at both the beauty of the ocean and the problems it faces, and to deepen their interest in the marine environment. This exhibition presents the artworks of marine creatures created by the children through the program.

What is the “Next Creation Program”?
This is an arts and culture experience program for children run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture. In order to allow children to learn at a deeper and higher level, they can enter the creative fields that interest them and receive guidance from professionals working at the forefront of each field.
We aim to support the blossoming of children's rich talents while supporting their individuality and dreams in the arts and culture.

Saturday, October 10—Sunday, December 20, 2026.
Atrium on the 5th Floor of the Telecom Center Building
Organized by: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), Tama Art University
Cooperation: Tokyo Sea Life Park(Tokyo Zoological Park Society), Sunshine Aquarium

Yoshiharu Hamada (Professor, Department of Product Design, Tama Art University)
After working as an in-house designer in sports product development and branding, he founded Studio Galleryworks and relocated to Milan. He holds a Master in Design from Domus Academy.
Since 2018, he has been a Professor in the Department of Product and Textile Design at Tama Art University. His professional roles include serving as a judge for the Good Design Award and, since 2021, as an advisor for the Japan Science and Technology Agency's ACT-X program. Currently, he leads the “Suteru Design” (Design Beyond Waste) project, working in collaboration with various companies and organizations toward achieving a circular society.

Tatsu Ogata (Associate Professor, Department of Product Design, Tama Art University)
As an in-house designer, he was responsible for lighting design for various facilities such as hotels and inns. After that, he became a freelance designer and designed in a wider range of fields. He is currently focusing on research into upcycling and material development.