Image: NTT InterCommunication Center, Tokyo
NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] in Tokyo will present 'ICC Kids Program 2026: Mikan’s Promise—Media Creations' from July 25 to August 30, 2026. The exhibition is described by ICC as a project of entirely new works that reconsiders media technology through children’s creative practices, with an emphasis on environments that respond to visitors and continue to change through participation.
According to the museum’s announcement, the title 'Mikan’s Promise' points to things that remain unfinished, are handed on to others, or shift little by little each time someone takes part. The project uses that idea to revisit what media technology was once expected to make possible: a setting in which anyone can create, think, and reflect on what has been made. ICC says the exhibition looks at today’s media-technology landscape, including generative AI, through diverse practices involving children.
Rather than presenting technology as a neutral tool, the project frames it as a relationship that may respond and produce unexpected results. In that context, the exhibition raises questions about who makes things and where expression begins. ICC also says the display space will not function simply as a room for finished works, but as a site that changes through people’s involvement, with children’s practices and visitors’ experiences recorded and carried forward.
The exhibition will be installed in Gallery A and Hyper ICC at ICC. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and admission is free, with advance reservations given priority for same-day entry. Reservations open from 11 a.m. seven days before the preferred visit date and remain available until the end of each entry slot. The museum lists closure dates on July 27, August 2, 3, 10, 17 and 24.
The project is planned and directed by Toru Akaba of IAMAS and glow, together with Tomoya Kashimada of ICC. Exhibition graphics are by Yosuke Nakanishi of STUDIO PT. and Ayano Niwa of glow. ICC is the organizer, with cooperation from the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences [IAMAS], and support from the Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nakano and Bunkyo ward boards of education.
Works listed for the exhibition include 'Sound in the Light', by the AR Audio Guide team (glow); 'Mikan Tree', by Circuit Lab., a team of UNIBA; 'Unreal Pareidolia -sandbox of shadows-', by Scott Allen (glow); 'Body of the Road', by Hiroyuki Hori; and 'Ambient Music Sequencer', by metamu. ICC also says related events will run during the exhibition period, including workshops for children who want to know more and talk events for adults interested in media art and technical aspects. A gallery tour is scheduled for August 1, 2026, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., with participating artists listed as the AR Audio Guide team (glow), Circuit Lab., Scott Allen, Hiroyuki Hori, metamu and Toru Akaba.
