Sony Park Mini, a tiny experimental art space in Ginza, is going to hold fans over until Ginza Sony Park opens in 2024. 

Sony Park Mini is located in a small 3.5 square meter space on B1F of the Nishiginza parking lot adjacent to Ginza Sony Park, which is currently under construction. The concept of the space is to “hold events that highlight local artists.”

More than 30 experimental programs will be held throughout the year highlighting unique creators and artists from all backgrounds including music, film, art, food, fashion, and shopping. Depending on which programs are popular, the project may extend to other cities. 

The first event, ‘Ayatake Exaki presents None Session,’ will run from March 23 until April 5, 2022, and will feature the musician and his piano.

Program Schedule
1: March 23 – April 5, 2022 / Ayatake Ezaki (Musical Artist)
2: April 6 – April 19, 2022 / Takuro Tamayama (Contemporary Artist)
3: April 20 – May 2, 2022 / Chiaki Kadota (Painter)
4: May 3 – May 16, 2022 / Neo Sora (Film Director), Aiko Masubuchi (Film Curator)
*The period of these events is subject to change. Any changes will be announced on Sony Park Mini social media accounts.

The Nishiginza Parking Lot Coffee shop, located inside Sony Park Mini, will offer a lineup of drinks made from carefully selected coffee beans. Vegan donuts and cookies made with natural ingredients will also be available.

The Creative Center, the design division of the Sony Group, is collaborating with a number of science fiction authors to use sci-fi prototyping to find out what Tokyo will look like in the future. 

Inspired by the three keywords ‘2050,’ ‘Tokyo,’ and ‘love,’ Sony designers have created four design prototypes, each with a theme: wellbeing, Habitat, Sense and Life. Science fiction authors Taiyo Fujii, Miyuki Ono, Haruka Mugihara, and Itsuki Tsukui each created a sci-fi short story to accompany these creations.

These prototypes will be available to see at the Sony Park Exhibition at Ginza Sony Park starting on August 31. 

Sci-fi prototyping is a technique using science fiction to envision the future, then using it as a starting point to consider what society can do now to impact that possible future. 

The current global pandemic has made it more difficult than ever before to envision what the future will look like. Audiences around the globe are more interested than ever before in seeing what the world will be like in 30 years, and this technique might be able to put some minds at ease. 

Would you like to take a look at what the future might hold? 

Ginza Sony Park is set to display their #012 Affinity in Autonomy exhibition at the Ginza Sony Park buildingーwhich is a project for the renovation of the Sony Buildingーfrom December 14, 2019.

Affinity in Autonomy was first shown by Sony at Milan Design Week 2019 which was held back in April. It received huge praise from attendees, and so Ginza Sony Park are bringing it back home to showcase at the building, which has enjoyed over 5 million visitors since it opened, for more people to experience it. The exhibit looks at elevating the affinity between humans and robots so that they may co-exist.

Also as part of the exhibition, Sony will showcase five individual pieces entitled Awakening, Accordance, Autonomous, Affiliation, and Association, which make use of image sensors. As visitors experience each one in order, their affinity towards robots will grow. Sound and visuals will play in response to people’s movements.

The exhibition combines sound, colour and interaction, offering new insight into robots. What’s more is that the robots recognise humans and response in real time, further enhancing the realism offered by the experience.

If you’re in Tokyo this holiday season, and are looking for the robots, then be sure to pay a visit to Ginza Sony Park.