Image: NTT InterCommunication Center, Tokyo
NTT InterCommunication Center in Tokyo opened its annual summer ICC Kids’ Program in 2022 with 'Tools for Play', an exhibition and workshop-based project built around the idea of the tool as a starting point for invention and technology. The program ran from July 23 to August 28 in ICC Gallery A, with an online component presented through Hyper ICC. According to the museum, the initiative is designed to introduce children to contemporary media art and media environments through interactive, participatory and hands-on works.
The 2022 edition took “tools” as its central motif and asked how objects made for specific purposes can be rethought through play. ICC described the concept of play broadly, including meanings such as playing, gaming, performing, and reproducing, and framed the exhibition as an invitation for viewers to shift their perspective on familiar objects, release them from their usual roles, look inside their mechanisms, and examine how they work.
The project sat within ICC’s long-running Kids’ Program, which has become a fixture of the summer season. The museum said the program aims to foster children’s curiosity and imagination by connecting them with works inspired by media art and the surrounding media environment. For 2022, that educational framework was tied to an exhibition model that combined gallery display with workshops and related public programming.
The real-world exhibition at ICC Gallery A was open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on days when the venue was operating, with closures listed for July 25, August 1, 7, 8, 15 and 22. Admission was free, but advance reservation was required, with same-day entry prioritized for people who had already booked. The museum also noted that opening hours could change and that temporary closures were possible.
The exhibition featured works by a group of artists and collectives whose practices span media art, sound, installation and experimental visual forms. The listed works included '工場設備の動き' by Haruka Aramaki; 'INDUSTRIAL JP' and 'INDUSTRIAL JP ASMR' by INDUSTRIAL JP; 'Nevermore' and '寓話の寓話〈ウミネコ〉' by couch; '3つの世界（Three Worlds）' and '小鳥たちのために／鳥の記譜法' by Eri Suzuki, known as Suzueri; 'BEAT/BIT' by Keita Miyashita; and '近代的価値から逃走する' by yann2.
ICC credited Kyoko Kuno and Minoru Hatanaka with joint curation, with Tomoya Kashimada and Yasuko Yubi on the curatorial team. Kuno also served as exhibition director, while Akihiko Taniguchi directed Hyper ICC. The museum listed gallery tours on August 6 and August 13, and artist talks across August 20, 21 and 26, including sessions for couch and yann2, INDUSTRIAL JP and Keita Miyashita, and Aramaki and Suzueri. The exhibition was hosted by NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC], with support from local education boards in Shibuya, Shinjuku, Nakano and Bunkyo.
