In collaboration with Heralbony Inc. and the General Incorporated Association, Connected Ink Village, Wacom launched a new initiative called "Call & Response” in September 2021.

Heralbony Inc. (referred to as "Heralbony" from here onwards) licenses both individual artists and those living in facilities throughout Japan to develop a diverse range of businesses with their art data. Having connections with over 30 facilities and approximately 150 artists, the HERALBONY GALLERY in Morioka City, Iwate prefecture, Japan showcases these unique artists.

The General Incorporated Association, Connected Ink Village (referred to as "Connected Ink Village" from here onwards) is an organization in Tokyo, Japan established by Wacom in February 2021 for the purpose of implementing social initiatives that sustainably support art, technology, and learning in the mid- to long-term.

The "Call & Response" project launched by the three organizations is an experimental initiative in which creators within the Connected Ink Village respond to a call by artists. These artists are contracted by Heralbony based on their artworks to channel their own unique expressions. The project pursues the possibilities of human expression without being bound within the framework of rules and categories designated by people or society. We will deliver an experience on how we perceive the "vibrations of the heart" such artworks can generate by experimenting in this style.

Many of the artists contracted by Heralbony are people with severe intellectual disabilities. Their works are called “outsider art” or “art brut”. Fumito Matsuda, Vice President and Representative Director of Heralbony says that “The artworks allow the artists to express what is in their hearts but cannot be easily expressed in words.” Call & Response provides a new way of responding to the call of art with art. Nobutaka Ide, President and CEO of Wacom and Representative Director of the Connected Ink Village, mentioned that one of the goals is to blur the lines between with and without disabilities in the excitement created by the process of connecting art and artists.

What kind of vibrations beating in our hearts do the chains of rules and structure evoke, and how can we overcome the barriers that exist in our society today? The Call & Response experiment continues.

*Quotes from the live streaming of the Call & Response Vol. 2.

Explore past Call & Response events:
Call & Response Vol. 1 (September 2021)

https://youtu.be/TiJ2v7UhOc4?t=931 (Connected Ink YouTube Channel)

• Satoru Kobayashi “Hanyu-no-yado” (My Sweet Home) x Hiroaki Matsubara (Jazz pianist and organizer), Ayako Igawa (content designer)
• Masahiko Kimura Giraffe No.2 x Masashi Onishi (Team IMPALA)
• Masahiko Kimura “Hikone-jo” (Hikone Castle) x Tsuyoshi Kaseda (Team IMPALA)
• Masahiko Kimura “Hikone-jo” (Hikone Castle) x MIDORI (Nora)
• Masahiko Kimura House in Berlin x Maki Yokoyama (Team IMPALA)

Call & Response Vol. 2 (November 2021 at the Connected Ink)

https://youtu.be/l_CJK08tXaQ (Connected Ink YouTube Channel)

• Keisuke Mori Star Man x Tamotsu Ito (Team KOPPA, Tamotsu Ito Architecture Office)
• Shunichi Iwase Beautiful Ladies x Team IMPALA (Tsuyoshi Kaseda, Masashi Onishi, Maki Yokoyama)
• Keisuke Mori Let it Be x Nora
• Fumie Shimaoka Universe × Shinnosuke

Call & Response Vol. 3 (February 2022 at the After Connected Ink)

https://youtu.be/Bvj7ZGOBb2A?t=4255 (Connected Ink YouTube Channel)

• Yu Takada Maze x SAAYA TAKAOKA
• Yu Takada Maze x Ogi & Hirotaka
• Yu Takada Maze x SAAYA TAKAOKA, KAHO GOTO, MIDORI
• Yu Takada Maze x MIZUKI MIZOKAMI, AKIKO MIWA
• Yu Takada Maze x Team IMPALA (Tsuyoshi Kaseda, Maki Yokoyama, Rieko Ogino)
• Yu Takada Maze x MIDORI, KAHO GOTO, YUKINA SHIMIZU, MIZUKI MIZOKAM