Travelers passing through JR Ueno Station in Tokyo might want to take a moment to check out a new feature on the station’s Platform 13. Though it is still a working platform for train departures and arrivals, it is also now a 100-meter long “video experience space” that can be used to show a variety of digital artworks and movies.
The video gallery space on Platform 13 at JR Ueno Station
This new video art gallery comes equipped with 17 projectors and speakers and uses the 100-meter-long wall of Platform 13 as a screen.
A Blue Period movie promotion shown this August on Platform 13
The gallery was opened partially in January, with the first 25 meters of the screen showing digital art by students of Tokyo University of the Arts, which has a campus in Ueno. However, from the beginning of August the complete 100-meter screen has been showing an original video tie-in with the movie “Blue Period,” which is based on a popular manga.
In the future, JR East plans to use Platform 13 as a unique gallery for other collaborations with local government and partner companies. This autumn though, visitors to Platform 13 will be able to enjoy railway-themed digital movies featuring some of the famous trains that have colored Ueno Station’s history, with the train’s names written in beautiful traditional Japanese calligraphy.
Article by Michael Lambe. Images courtesy of JR Ueno Station. All rights reserved.
