Osaka Highlights

Creative Center Osaka, hub for the Kitakagaya arts community, celebrates its 20th anniversary

Arts promotion program “Kitakagaya BIG★BANG” launches

Chishima Real Estate, based in the Kitakagaya area, has announced that Creative Center Osaka (located on the former site of Namura Shipbuilding Osaka Factory) will celebrate its 20th anniversary in October 2025. Coinciding with the year of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, the company will launch a year-long program of diverse events under the banner of "Kitakagaya BIG★BANG." This program draws inspiration from Taro Okamoto, producer of the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, who famously said that "art is an explosion!" This initiative aims to ignite a "big bang" for the future of the Kitakagaya art community.

Chishima Real Estate has been dedicated to revitalizing the Kitakagaya area through art. This journey began with the "Namura Art Meeting ’04- ‘34" event in 2004, held at the former Osaka site of the Namura Shipbuilding Factory. Recognizing the transformative power of arts and culture, the company established Creative Center Osaka (CCO) in 2005, transforming the industrial site into a hub of continuous creative activity. Since then, they have been committed to fostering the Kitakagaya neighborhood as a vibrant, art-filled creative district.

While Kitagaya has steadily gained recognition as an arts community, their 20th anniversary marks a pivotal opportunity to launch this new program, where they will unveil new attractions for the area and drive further development. The "Kitakagaya BIG★BANG" program will feature a diverse range of activities. Starting in April, a barbecue area will open on the pier at CCO, and in September, they will experiment with new uses for CCO including a temporary sauna tentatively called the “Kitakagaya Multi Barthe” in collaboration with Osaka Sauna DESSE, which will be available for a month and a half. Additionally, they will release a real-world puzzle game called “Kitakagaya Mystery Museum” that explores the entire area, as well as hold regular flea markets, and after a nine-year hiatus revive the design project “DESIGNEAST,” which started in 2009. This year will offer a wide range of activities for everyone to enjoy Kitakagaya, Chishima Real Estate invites everyone to join them during this exciting year.

See below for a full schedule of events:

• Kitakagaya BIG★BANG Schedule and Content

More about the art initiatives in Kitakagaya:

Kitakagaya, located at the mouth of the Kizu River in Suminoe-ku, Osaka, once prospered with the shipbuilding industry. However, with changes in the industrial structure, shipyards began to relocate, leading to an increase in vacant factories and houses. Following the Namura Art Meeting ’04-’34 in 2004, our company proposed the Kitakagaya Creative Village Concept in 2009. Initiatives to utilize vacant real estate through art have progressed, attracting a diverse range of stakeholders, including artists and art NPOs. Currently, there are approximately 50 bases within the area, each independently developing its own activities. The area also features numerous murals and outdoor art pieces created by artists from Japan and abroad, contributing to its growing popularity as an art community among visitors.

See more information from the Chishima Real Estate website (Japanese only):

• Chishima Real Estate