CCBTx SOCIAL INNOVATION WEEK 2026 Conference ”AUGMENTED SITUATION D × CCBT: How Can Art and Technology Expand the City?”

AUGMENTED SITUATION D is the world’s first city-roaming XR exhibition, which transforms the city itself into a gallery. Originally held over twelve days from March 10, 2023, across an area with a radius of approximately one kilometer around Shibuya Station, the project involved a workshop with ten artists, architects, and designers, as well as local children from Tokyo, together creating artworks utilizing XR technology (an umbrella term for virtual and augmented realities). Subsequently, the same format was rolled out for events in three other cities: Kanazawa, Hiroshima, and Osaka. In August 2026, a book, Augmented Situation D: How we augmented Shibuya, was published, documenting the specific methods used to create the city-roaming XR exhibition.

This talk features Saito Seiichi, who served as a mentor for the 2022 CCBT artist fellows. In addition to introducing examples of past practices, Saito discusses the current state and future potential of the intersection of urban space, XR, and civic participation. As a pioneer of that field, Saito shares insights and draws connections with CCBT’s core philosophy of civic creativity, by which the creative possibilities of the public are unlocked within the city.