Hendrik Wendler

Germany

Hendrik Wendler studied Architecture and Design at Bauhaus University Weimar, where he focused on media, computer graphics, and immersive installations. His early virtual reality works were presented at CeBIT and Hannover Messe, and he contributed to large-scale events for Weimar’s European Capital of Culture in 1999. After working at a design agency and receiving a Red Dot Award for a 3D interface, he returned to academia in 2004 to teach UI design and video graphics. There, he developed groundbreaking software that accelerated video rendering, helping shape modern video mapping. Since 2010, he has led the internationally acclaimed Genius Loci Weimar festival and serves worldwide as a speaker, curator, and jury member.

Kouta Hikichi

Japan

Based in Tokyo and Fukuoka, he founded Co-Innovation Farm『VISIONs』in 2025. His work spans a wide range of creative fields, from large-scale national projects to global brand initiatives. Major projects include the design system for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, as well as EXPO WORLDs, an open design project integrating design, art, and sound for the Yumeshima Expo site. He has also contributed creative work to nationally significant projects such as the NHK New Year’s Eve Song Festival, alongside collaborations with global brands including NIKE and YANMAR, and strategic design support for startups. In 2026, he established the general incorporated association COMMONs, positioning the Expo and its legacy as a shared platform for future-oriented creation beyond 2025.

Ou Sugiyama

Japan

After joining Mori Building Co., Ltd. in 2000, he served as Head of the Planning and Operations Office for MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: EPSON teamLab Borderless in 2018, and later as Facility Director of TOKYO NODE at Toranomon Hills in 2023. He left Mori Building in 2024 to found Shinryoiki Inc. He currently serves as the Planning Director of the Signature Pavilion “Proof of Life” at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai; the Executive Director of Tokyo Creative Salon 2026; and the Exhibition Director of the Thematic Pavilion at GREEN×EXPO 2027. Through these projects, he continues to create new forms of experience and space that transcend the boundaries between art and technology.

Chanpen Koolkaew

Thailand

Chanpen Koolkaew (Jib) is the Founder of DECIDE KIT, a motion graphic design studio built from passion, curiosity, and a deep belief that design helps people make better decisions. I see design as a “KIT”—a practical and powerful tool that turns complex ideas into clear, meaningful visual stories. I founded DECIDE KIT in 2006 after choosing passion over a motion designer role in New York, returning home to build my own studio. Two decades later, I continue to lead a small team that values craftsmanship, data-driven thinking, and thoughtful collaboration. Based in Bangkok, Thailand, we create motion graphics, infographics, immersive art, projection mapping, concerts, product launches, and 3D screen experiences—designed to communicate with clarity, emotion, and purpose.

Ouchhh

Turkey

Ouchhh Studio is a globally recognized creative new media studio working at the intersection of art, science, and technology. For over a decade, the studio has pioneered data-driven art forms such as data paintings, AI-based works, and large-scale immersive installations, guided by the philosophy “data as paint, algorithm as brush.” Based in Istanbul with international partnerships across Europe and the U.S., Ouchhh operates as a multidisciplinary hub of artists, designers, engineers, and data scientists. The studio has realized more than 75 public art projects worldwide, collaborating with leading institutions, festivals, museums, and global brands. Their works have received numerous international awards, including Red Dot Design Award, German Design Award, ADC Awards, and MUSE Awards.

Kentaro Tanaka

Japan

Born in 2000 and raised in Sapporo, Japan, Kentaro Tanaka is a video artist and graphic designer. He won the 1minute Projection Mapping Competition 2024 and participated in the Video Mapping Festival in Amiens, France, as well as an artist residency in Lille. Centering his practice on Cinema 4D, he works across 3DCG and graphic design to explore moving-image expression. His work focuses on subtle moments of discomfort and perceptual shifts that quietly emerge in everyday scenes. By capturing small inconsistencies and visual “misalignments,” he creates poetic imagery that blurs the boundary between the familiar and the unfamiliar, inviting viewers to re-examine ordinary experiences from a slightly altered perspective.

Michiyuki Ishita

Japan

He is an internationally recognized artist who creates immersive spatial experiences by treating images as light. In 2011, he founded the Projection Mapping Association of Japan and has since led numerous major projects, including one of the world’s largest international projection mapping competitions, the projection mapping program for the Osaka–Kansai Expo, and the content direction for TOKYO Night & Light at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. As a creative director and producer with a strong artistic vision, he has produced many one-of-a-kind works and is widely invited to create, lecture, and serve on juries at international festivals and national projects around the world.