Art Golden Gai Tower
January 11, 2025 - Nox Gallery / Superchief Gallery
An experimental exhibition in Tokyo, Japan brought me and a tower full of international artists together to transform an abandoned 10-story building. we filled the space with immersive art installations, hosted dynamic parties, and lived on-site until its eventual demolition.
Room 301
Superchief—the first NFT gallery—and Nox, Japan's pioneering NFT space, set the stage for this installation by giving me the third floor of a soon-to-be-demolished building in Shibuya. Being one of the last people onboarded to the tower, I was left with a mere day and a half to finish everything in my room before the public opening. I began by embracing pure destruction—gathering construction gear and hammers, I tore everything I could down, then started to paint. Amidst the ruins emerged the twin indiGO Kids, wearing “deconstruction” uniforms as a symbol of dismantling all outdated structures that no longer serve us. Yet, they both peacefully smile and bow in respect for all that has come before them, for it is due to the history of the structure that they can even stand there at all. This installation further reflects our role as disruptors, disruption within Japan, the art and traditional finance world as NFT creators and web3 users, and a disruption of the literal building itself. On so many levels, I felt the people within the tower were vessels of drastic change and disruption within Tokyo. However, attesting to the bow of the indiGO Kids in my painting, the artists within Golden Gai showed both respect and disregard for tradition simultaneously in their values. Traditional painters, sculptors, and photographers occupied rooms directly next to digital and memetic artists spawned from deep internet culture. More juxtaposition could be seen in the cultural exchange between Eastern and Western cultures. musicians, for example, would perform during events following the public opening, featuring traditional Japanese musicians, shibari performances, and tea ceremonies, somehow paired with highly experimental, Western-inspired rock, metal, and hip-hop performances. The Art Golden Gai Tower was a cultural exchange and cosmic beacon of both harmony and disruption within the heart of Tokyo, and what felt like the world.
The building was shown for a month, and the art progressed with performances, music, and raves happening every day often simultaneously. during this time the art in my room evolved as I permitted attendants to grab hammers from the floor and destroy the room further. all the way until the final destruction of the Golden Gai Building.
The numbers covering the indiGo kids’ helmets and room represent the numerical code within all things, revealed through the cracks of the material world. and stand for the “Numerology Foundation” group which sponsored the installation with their recently launched token $Number.
Notably Japanese attendance had strong impressions to the composition of the bowing figures, most likely due to the fact that I sampled the pose from the Iconic construction signs prevalent at every site, showing a bowing construction worker appologizing for the inconvenience of their work, It was fascinating to see it get recognize immediately by locals, while western attendance didn’t seem to notice
PRESS: ART GOLDEN GAI
Good Design Award 2025 — Art Golden Gai
https://www.adfwebmagazine.jp/en/award/art-golden-street-wins-2025-good-design-award/
Feature on the immersive 10-story exhibition Art Golden Gai, awarded the Good Design Award 2025.
Time Out Tokyo — “Art Golden Gai” immersive exhibition
https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/art/art-golden-gai
Overview of the exhibition transforming a soon-to-be-demolished 10-story building into a multi-room art experience.
PR TIMES — Art Golden Gai press release
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000178.000038948.html
Official announcement detailing the project’s scale, 7,000 visitors, and participation of over 70 artists.
TEAMZ Web3 Listing — Art Golden Gai
https://www.teamz.co.jp/en/participant/artgoldengai
Event participation page introducing Art Golden Gai within the broader Web3 and digital-art context.
Art Golden Gai — Official Artist List
https://www.artgoldengai.com/artists
Official listing of all exhibiting artists in the multi-floor installation, including Armyan Nispel.
Art Golden Gai — Official Exhibition Site
https://www.artgoldengai.com
Main site providing event details, concepts for each floor, and photos of installations.
NOX Gallery — Announcement & Documentation
https://x.com/NoxGallery
Gallery announcement posts and documentation of the Art Golden Gai exhibition.
Anomaly Tokyo — Exhibition Coverage
https://anomalytokyo.com/en/news/elena-knox%EF%BD%9Cart-golden-gai-immersive-art-in-shibuya/
Blog feature introducing Art Golden Gai as a unique large-scale immersive art event in Shibuya.
Additional Coverage — Blogs & Independent Media
Ameblo — “建物まるごとアート空間『アートゴールデン街』”
https://ameblo.jp/arttmitabi/entry-12883392361.html
Personal art review documenting the multi-floor immersive experience at Art Golden Gai, with photos and impressions from inside the 10-story building.
Livedoor Blog — “ART GOLDEN GAI 10F–6F ＠ セゾン代官山”
https://nagacumatz.livedoor.blog/archives/26665320.html
Blog post featuring extensive on-site photographs and floor-by-floor documentation of installations inside the Saison Daikanyama building.
Hidden Champion — “ART GOLDEN GAI Photo Recap”
https://hiddenchampion.jp/post/recap/art-golden-gai-2/
Culture magazine recap with curated images of notable installations and atmosphere within the exhibition.
Colocal Magazine (コロカル) — “渋谷、恵比寿、代官山の中間点で開催『アートゴールデン街』”
https://colocal.jp/news/168693.html
Design and lifestyle blog covering the concept of turning a soon-to-be-demolished apartment building into a large-scale art intervention.
Anomaly Tokyo — “Art Golden Gai Immersive Art in Shibuya”
https://anomalytokyo.com/en/news/elena-knox%ef%bd%9cart-golden-gai-immersive-art-in-shibuya/
English-language write-up introducing the event, its scale, and its unique creative structure.
STUDIO M — “Art Golden Gai 展を見てきました”
https://studiom.tokyo/blog/9326/
Artist/community blog discussing the experience of viewing Art Golden Gai and highlighting memorable rooms and themes.
Find47 — “建物全部がアート『アートゴールデン街』に行ってきたレポート”
https://find47.jp/2025/01/18/art-golden-gai/
Independent blog offering a personal walkthrough, photos, and impressions of the immersive installations.
N-U Japan — “代官山の老朽ビルが丸ごとアート会場に変貌する『アートゴールデン街』”
https://n-u.jp/art/22485
Japanese art/culture blog describing the transformation of the building and the diversity of works inside.