Art Project "Asagaya Quest" to Connect Stations and Communities Through Digital Signage Utilization

NEORT Inc. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Toshiaki Takase; hereinafter "NEORT"), which operates the digital art platform "neort.io", will implement the art project "Asagaya Quest" utilizing digital signage installed within JR Asagaya Station, in cooperation with East Japan Railway Company (hereinafter "JR East") and alongside Abeam Consulting Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter "Abeam Consulting").

This project redefines station signage not merely as an advertising medium, but as a "stage for expression connecting communities and users," aiming to revitalize the station's surrounding areas and provide new experiential value to station users. The planning and production of the digital art will be jointly handled by NEORT and the contemporary art circle EXCALIBUR.

Background

Many digital signages installed in public spaces have been introduced as advertising media. However, due to their installation environment and expressive capabilities, they have recently garnered attention as devices capable of creating new customer touchpoints and experiential value.

In particular, signage in railway stations, in addition to its role as an advertising medium, can contribute to the creation of local value such as economic revitalization, dissemination of station and community individuality, and fostering civic pride by delivering richer experiences to station users through its visual expressions and enhancing linkage with the local community.

NEORT has aimed to transform signage spaces from "media" to "stages for expression" based on its network of digital artists worldwide and its expertise in planning, production, and supervision of digital art. This project is an experiment to implement that philosophy in the everyday setting of a train station.

Objectives

This project aims to establish an operational model that balances the acquisition of direct economic value with the acquisition of mid-to-long-term customer and social value through the provision of local and experiential value. We will examine new ways to maximize the value of digital signage as a management resource through multifaceted utilization and demonstration.

Project Details

"Asagaya Quest (ASAGAYA QUEST)" is an initiative that collaborates with 6 shopping streets and 32 stores in the vicinity of JR Asagaya Station to consolidate the appeal and information of each store and shopping street, and reconfigure it as digital art. This will be projected onto the digital signage within JR Asagaya Station to pique the interest of station users. The digital art will be jointly planned and produced by NEORT and the contemporary art circle EXCALIBUR, which continues to create works themed around the overlap of reality and virtuality.

The signage will display the target shopping streets and stores in a map-like layout. By accessing the project's special webpage from your smartphone, users can experience digital art overlaid onto the real-world scenery in front of them, allowing them to actually visit these locations through WebAR (AR that operates in a browser without app installation) launched on the page.

Through the WebAR experience launched on the special page, rather than using the smartphone's standard camera, users will gain an experience akin to "exploring the digital world around Asagaya Station." The project name "Asagaya Quest" derives from this exploratory experience.

Furthermore, changes in user behavior resulting from this program, as well as customer experiences and feedback from contact with and appreciation of digital art, will be linked and synchronized with reactions and diffusion status on the web/SNS, serving as subjects for multifaceted effect verification.

AR Experience Page: https://www.entaku.net/asagaya/ar/

* The AR overlay display is WebAR (no app installation required) that operates on the project's special page, not the smartphone's standard camera.

Participating Artists

EXCALIBUR

A contemporary art circle based in Tokyo and Kyoto. Under the theme "Street, Ethernet, Field" – the overlap of reality and virtuality – they transform personal memories into social records through their intersection with narratives and myths. They create works in diverse formats including pixel art, paintings, sculptures, and blockchain-based art, advocating "Contemporary is the retro games of the future." Recent major solo exhibitions include "METABIT" (Sato Gallery/Paris, 2024) and "Tokyo Ukiyo.e" (Sato Gallery/Rotterdam, 2023). Major group exhibitions include "The Postmodern Child" (Busan Museum of Art/South Korea, 2022, 2023). They have received the Kyoto International Film Festival Art Division Excellence Award (2017, 2020) and were selected for "100 Video Artists."

Roles of Each Company

NEORT: Overall supervision of joint planning and production with EXCALIBUR, supervision of digital art content, and artwork distribution on signage.

EXCALIBUR: Joint planning and production of digital art works.

Abeam Consulting: Overall project design, framework construction for experiential value and effect verification, and examination of operational models.

JR East: Provision of digital signage at JR Asagaya Station and cooperation in implementation.

Comments

Toshiaki Takase, Representative Director, NEORT Inc.

Stations are familiar public spaces where people pass through daily. By redefining their screens as "stages for expression" rather than advertising, we believe art can become a circuit that reconnects the city and its people. Through "Asagaya Quest," we look forward to challenging new ways of experiencing the city, where expressions encountered at the station connect to the experience of walking around town.

Gen Oyama, Principal, Abeam Consulting Ltd.

In a rapidly changing society, companies are increasingly expected to connect with society and proactively engage in solving social issues. Through co-creation with art, Abeam Consulting will expand the possibilities of signage as a medium, and address complex challenges such as improving living experiences and revitalizing communities by creating human and information flows, with new approaches to value creation and problem-solving.

Event Overview

Project Name: Asagaya Quest (ASAGAYA QUEST)

Period: July 17, 2026 (Fri) - August 16, 2026 (Sun)

Location: Digital Signage within JR Asagaya Station / Asagaya Station surrounding area

Target Area: 6 shopping streets and 32 stores in the vicinity of Asagaya Station

Participation Method: Access the project's special webpage via smartphone (no app installation required, experience via WebAR)

Web Page: https://asagaya.neort.io/

AR Experience Page: https://www.entaku.net/asagaya/ar/

Company Overviews

NEORT Inc.

Location: SG Terrace 6F, 7-9-5 Nishi-Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Toshiaki Takase, Representative Director

Business Activities: Operation of the digital art platform "neort.io", planning and production of digital art. Opened "NEORT++", a dedicated exhibition space for digital art, in Bakurocho in April 2022.

HP: https://team.neort.io/

Abeam Consulting Ltd.

Location: Yaesu Central Tower, 2-2-1 Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo (Tokyo Midtown Yaesu)

Representative: Takahiro Yamada, Representative Director and President

Business Activities: Management consulting, business process consulting, IT consulting, outsourcing.

HP: https://www.abeam.com/jp/ja

East Japan Railway Company (JR East)

Location: 2-2-2 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

HP: https://www.jreast.co.jp/

Inquiries Regarding This Matter

NEORT Inc. Public Relations

Email: info[at]neort.io