In November 2020, Wacom held an event called "Connected Ink 2020" where the theme was "Creative Chaos". What is Connected Ink? What is creative chaos? While the event and the theme itself set out to approach these questions, people in technology, creativity, art, and music gathered and shared their enthusiasm. More than half a year after the event has ended, the answer to these questions remains a mystery, and the investigation will be picked back up at "Connected Ink 2021".
Going deeper into the eternal question of what is the meaning of our existence; to keep asking questions and moving forward: That is what’s important to Wacom when we consider our relationship to and within society. Connected Ink is a new commitment and the beginning of a new challenge for Wacom to continue asking these questions that have no end. We would like to take this opportunity to look back at some of the questions that emerged from Connected Ink 2020 and imagine the journey that will continue into Connected Ink 2021.
What is calm co-existence between people, nature, goods, and technology?
In this session, Team KOPPA, mui Lab, and Wacom shared their thoughts on the distance between humans and technology. Both mui Lab’s "cabin" that appeared in the venue and the "Stage KOPPA" that changed its shape each session were created based on the idea of coexisting with people, nature, goods, and technology. Even after the event, they continue to exist in different locations, wandering and exploring, continuing their creative journey. And during Connected Ink 2021, the questions will expand from our relationship with nature to our relationship with the universe.
https://youtu.be/GY5HVsX-qmg (Connected Ink YouTube channel)
How can we support kids’ love for drawing, today and beyond?
Oiso Town in Kanagawa Prefecture (Japan), inet, Celsys, and Wacom have come together to create a project in which we adults continue to genuinely ask how we can support the children in Oiso Town. The project continues to grow into a new challenge that goes beyond the realm of art. It is driven by our passion to support the children's experience, not only from the aspect of technology but as a community.
https://youtu.be/NXQjaJ1FasI (Connected Ink YouTube channel)
How can we turn the challenge of digital education into an opportunity?
In a session with Verena Pausder, who works in digital education in Germany, and Heidi Wang, SVP of Ink Division at Wacom, they talked about new ideas to take on the challenges of digital education that rapidly advanced during the COVID-19 situation. With the world changing at an unprecedented speed, Pausder discussed the importance of teachers, students, politicians, and IT companies like Wacom coming together. How can Wacom turn this challenge into an opportunity to support children's growth through our “Lifelong Ink” vision?
https://youtu.be/7C-k-_kHWZ0 (Connected Ink YouTube channel)
What can Wacom do to unleash young talent into the world?
Together with the World Bank Group and the Rockefeller Foundation, Wacom supported the "Click-On Kaduna" program in Kaduna, Nigeria, which is facing a youth employment challenge. The program is designed to create employment and economic opportunities for young people, especially women by providing them with digital skills in digital art, design, and entrepreneurship. Especially during the COVID-19 situation, where learning and employment opportunities have declined, digital skills are a catalyst for people's creativity, in turn leading to hope for the future. Wacom will continue our efforts to support people’s desire to learn and work with a particular focus on areas such as Kaduna which are plagued by fragility, conflict, and violence.
https://youtu.be/ZHT43zlEb2Y (Connected Ink YouTube channel)
How can we deliver an authentic experience?
This session featured “Cartoon Crunch”, a challenge where students from the US, Canada, and South America gathered remotely to create short animations in only one week. The animation star, Mike Morris, supported this journey together with other mentors who were there to guide the students. We are always thinking about what we can provide young animators, not only in terms of educational opportunities but also authentic experiences. Together with professional animators, Wacom will continue to think about this question.
https://youtu.be/8C76zsZRj-8 (Connected Ink YouTube channel)
Where is My Soul? Does Future Ink hold the answer to this question?
“Space Ink" is the first project announced in collaboration with Ars Electronica. It is an attempt to explore the possibilities of new types of drawing by combining new expressions of art “Spaxels” (space + pixels) and Wacom’s pen technology. It works like this: An artist draws with a pen, and a drone interprets and expresses the artwork. What emerged from this experiment were questions such as "What is the soul?”, "Why does my soul get excited?”, “Are feelings caused by the time born from the resonant energy that makes it so, or does something happen in resonance with the energy created in the time?” At Connected Ink 2021, we will continue to ask these questions through new works while creating a dialogue with society.
https://youtu.be/G1esa8u63X8 (Connected Ink YouTube channel)
What are the freedoms and restrictions of classical music?
The final session at Connected Ink 2020 was a performance by Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and LIMITS. Based on the theme of freedom and restriction, they played Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 for 20 minutes, while the LIMITS artists drew. This may have been the moment when fate knocked on the door of Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, because since then they have been navigating this new realm, while keeping the tradition and culture of classical music alive. The Japan Philharmonic Orchestra faces the complex challenge of asking questions about freedom and restrictions, a topic that they will continue to address at Connected Ink 2021.
https://youtu.be/m51lnGV4eyM (Connected Ink YouTube channel)
To Connected Ink 2021
Connected Ink 2020 was an event where many moments and people crossed paths and chaos overlapped. At the opening session, which also served as a signal for the start of the event, Nobu Ide, CEO at Wacom said, "Creative chaos is a journey that has just begun and will continue onwards. We will interweave the art, technology, and learning important to humans into Connected Ink 2021. There is no right answer. However, we believe that we must confront our thoughts. We would like to embrace the creative chaos with you as we think about and design the future together.”
All these questions culminated in Connected Ink 2021, where we will embrace "more" creative chaos this year.
About Connected Ink 2021
November 16 & 17, 2021, online and offline (Tokyo, Beijing, Dusseldorf, Portland)
https://www.wacom.com/events/connected-ink
The Connected Ink logo is “growing”. Using the original Connected Ink 2020 logo as a template, Satoru Kobayashi will integrate the latest year somewhere into the design for every Connected Ink event going forward. He also added colors this year.
Wacom Canada has been involved with the "CREATE Program" at Sisler High School as a partner to support students who want to embark on career paths in the creative industry.
The 'Our Sparks.' pages showcases community creators whose works inspire and collaborate with us. This time features Arian Rahmatzai's artwork, a German talent who interned at Wacom.
The aspiration of children who dream of becoming creators is what ignites our team members’ enthusiasm and drives many of our initiatives. One such initiative involved teaming up with an animation workshop in Kinko Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
Wacom Yuify is an innovative service being developed to authenticate creators' works by embedding invisible micro-marks into artworks and, therefore, addressing unique needs across various regions and cultures.
Lannie Zhang, the only product manager in the Ink Division in China, took the time to talk to us about the initiatives planned to increase awareness and promote the use of digital ink technology.
We would like to introduce the artworks by artists in Oiso Town, Kanagawa, Japan, where we have been working together to support the writing/drawing initiative.
The Wacom Experience Center Portland was created for people to interact with the creative community in the city. We took a look back at its growth with Megan Davis, who has been playing an energetic role there.
Connected Ink 2022 opened with two key questions. Let’s take a look back at some of the sessions in Tokyo that explored them.
Read MoreWe would like to introduce the artworks by artists in Oiso Town, Kanagawa, Japan, where we have been working together to support the writing/drawing initiative.
Read MoreThe partnership with Oiso Town has developed into a city-wide initiative. We spoke with Tadakuni Tsubota of the Creative BU Retail Partnership about this initiative.
How do team members see Connected Ink? The next team member is Yohei Himori who is involved in the planning and operation of Connected Ink together with Heidi.
How do team members see Connected Ink? The first team member is Heidi Wang who has played a key role in the planning and operations when it all began in 2016.
In collaboration with Heralbony Inc. and the General Incorporated Association, Connected Ink Village, Wacom launched a new initiative called "Call & Response” in September 2021.
Here’s a look back at the opening and finale of the nearly 70 sessions held that day and reflect upon what has happened since Connected Ink 2021.
Our sparks meet constantly changing situations, unexpected challenges, and new opportunities. We called on our team members again to show how they see their spark in the world of today and the future.
Connected Ink 2020 was the beginning of a new commitment and challenge for Wacom to continue asking those eternal questions that always play in our minds.
"Stage KOPPA" was created as a stage for Connected Ink 2020. It is a stage that changes its shape and role in response to different situations while connecting the various stories that occur there.
Our sparks meet constantly changing situations, unexpected challenges, and new opportunities. We called on our team members again to show how they see their spark in the world of today and the future.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
Yoshinori Mita, a team member of Japan held an online drawing class together with FC KAZO and illustrator Suiiro to provide something fun for elementary school children to do during the COVID-19 stay-at-home period.
As an official partner, Wacom supports FC KAZO, a soccer club in Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. We’re excited to introduce our new initiatives with this inspiring club.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
Our team members in Germany organized an online workshop “Young Wacom” for the children while schools were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alex Duffey from our Americas Support team established a new program to support artists. We asked him about a story with Ms. Devon Bragg, the artist who inspired him to establish this program.
KOPPA began in April 2019. Tamotsu wanted to make something that can be used again after an exhibition. We asked Team KOPPA about their thoughts.
We put it together ourselves, set it up, put it back, then travel together again. The Traveling KOPPA, our new display furniture came to be.
KOPPA started out as a challenge: Tamotsu Ito, an architect from Japan, wanted to utilize leftover building materials. Our meeting was pure happenstance.
We had an internal art contest for our Social Initiatives. Let us share the existence of the spark in our team members’ hearts with their artworks.
We gave a marketing lecture for students who are learning to be engineers at the National Institute of Technology Tokyo College.
Every year, we take pen tablets that have been sitting in our warehouse and gift them to high school clubs and winners of high school art competitions to help students create digital contents.
"AI Ink for Education" was developed to capture eye movement information and pen movements while learning, in order to ascertain the characteristics of learning by each student and to create an educational environment suited to each student.
Yoana Simeonova, a software designer working in Bulgaria, introduced Wacom Intuos in a school to make children's IT classes more fun.