Art Thinking School is an educational program designed to embed more creativity in Japanese businesses in order to tackle global challenges with foresight. In 2023, Ars Electronica Futurelab and Hakuhodo developed six Inspiration Talks and a workshop concept, drawing on Ars Electronica’s diverse expertise in art, society and technology.
 
The Inspiration Talks are a series of 30-40 minute episodes that connect the latest innovations in society and technology with artworks exhibited at the Ars Electronica Center, demonstrating how art can help businesses think out-of-the-box and change their perspective in order to develop resilient future strategies. Each episode features Ars Electronica experts discussing topics such as the philosophy of Art Thinking, AI, environmental themes, and human-robot collaboration. My role involved shaping the overall strategy to make these topics engaging and relevant for businesses, supporting conceptualization, scriptwriting, and video production. Additionally, I contributed to an episode on the 2023 festival theme, Who Owns the Truth?, presenting three artworks that explore misinformation, ownership, and advancements in neurotechnology.
 
Beyond the Inspiration Talks, I experimented in the name of the Ars Electronica Futurelab on a new workshop format, focusing on brand transformation and helping companies reframe their future vision. By critically examining company values, participants design alternative future scenarios and bring them to life as immersive three-dimensional “future rooms.” The workshop’s outcome are first sketches of these future rooms that serve as a foundation for potential exhibition. Hideaki Ogawa and I tested it with Hakuhodo employees at the Hakuhodo University of Creativity in Tokyo, where it successfully helped participants identify essential future skills and values for their company.