"START Box" is a project to provide a place for young artists to create and support their ongoing activities. The project began in 2023 as a way of renovating vacant Tokyo public housing and other stores into ateliers and renting them out to young artists in the visual arts field at affordable rates. To date, a total of 67 artists have used the service in 2 locations over a period of about 3 years: "START Box Sasahata Hatsu," which utilizes an empty store in Tokyo public housing located along the Sasazuka-Hatagaya waterway, and "START Box Odaiba," which utilizes a corner of a parking lot in the premises of Tokyo residents' housing in Odaiba. For artists using the facilities, we provide not only support for places to create, but also opportunities for local communities and artists to interact with each other, as well as opportunities for artists to present their works. In particular, the Start Box EXHIBITION, which is held once every six months, is popular as a place for artists to meet each other, artists and visitors, and artists and society, with related programs such as artist talks and interactive viewing, in addition to the presentation of works.
In January 2026, we opened a new base, START Box Shirahige, in addition to the 2 existing bases. In addition to the "Atelier," he opened his first "Training Hall". We have newly developed creative activity spaces for performing arts such as theater and dance. Recruitment began in the fall of 2025, and in January 2026, 4 groups in the studio and 4 groups in the practice room began using the system.
Start Box Shirahige, a new base established in Sumida Ward
"START Box Shirahige" was renovated from a vacant shop in the Toei Shirahige Higashi Apartment in Tsutsumidori, Sumida-ku. It is a 12 minute walk from Higashimukojima Station on the Tobu Isesaki Line, and is located in a corner of the Toei Shirahige Higashi Apartments that line the Sumida River. A short walk will give you easy access to the lush green park and walking trails.
The "START Box Shirahige" consists of an "atelier," "training room," "workshop," and "social space." It uses vacant shops that used to function as a residential shopping district, so it is lined up in a row like a row house.
"Atelier" where you can immerse yourself in your own work while feeling a loose connection with the town
Atelier is designed for visual arts such as art, photography and media arts. There are 4 sections in total, each with 1 room of about 20m2, 1 room of about 25m2, and 2 rooms of about 30m2. The know-how accumulated since the start of the "Atelier" business in 2023 was fully utilized in this space improvement.
Project Manager Based on requests and opinions from artists who have used the Atelier in Sasa Hatahatsu and Odaiba, we aimed to create a more comfortable space for artists who use the Atelier for a long time. For example, by securing a private room, we are responding to the need to concentrate and immerse oneself in the production without worrying about the surroundings. By providing a "social space" that anyone can come and go, we are also considering the possibility of having a little conversation or taking a break. Another ingenuity is that the artists themselves can choose how to spend their time and achieve a balance between concentration and social interaction. In addition, the openings facing the street in both the studio and the practice room are glass-fronted, and opening the curtains creates a sense of openness, making the creative space open rather than closed.
Ms. Machi-Dana, who is using the “atelier ” of“ START Box Shirahige, ” is an artist who works in video and spatial installations, and when she was looking for a place to create, experiment, and demonstrate her work for exhibitions scheduled in February and March, she came across information about “START Box Shirahige ” through SNS and applied for use.
Machidarina Since I work and produce at the same time, the time I stay varies depending on the day, such as stopping by at night when I have work, or staying all day to concentrate, but I feel that it is very convenient to have a guaranteed place to use whenever I come. Film production, in particular, is time consuming and costly, but the fact that I was able to rent this studio made it easier for me to work while balancing life and production.
Each private room in the Atelier is equipped with a toilet and water, as well as air-conditioning, Wi-Fi, and refrigerators. As mentioned earlier, the opening facing the street is entirely glass, but there are permanent blinding curtains, so you can open them when you want to be open and close them when you want to focus.
Artists spend a lot of time in the urban atelier space, so it would be nice to have good air conditioning and plumbing. The wall is flat and big, so you can use it as a screen to shoot images, and it's also convenient to put materials on the wall and examine them. It's also good that the studio is on the first floor and facing the sidewalk. The glass opening facing the sidewalk is a sweeping window, making it easy to bring in heavy materials such as iron pipes.
Providing opportunities for artists who use the Atelier to interact with the community and present their works
Start Box's Atelier regularly holds Open Atelier events. By opening the ateliers that artists use to create their works to the public free of charge and without reservation, we encourage interaction between artists and local residents.
Project Manager By providing opportunities for the general public to see their works and participate in workshops, we hope that artists will gain the experience of explaining their works and activities to third parties. We hope that this will be a source of inspiration for artists and an opportunity for visitors to think more closely about their activities and work.
Start Box Shirahige is scheduled to be held on March 22, 2026 (Odaiba will be held on March 14 and Sasaki Tahatsu on March 15.). Those who are considering using START Box in the future can take a look at the facilities and hear about the activities of artists who actually use the facilities.
Because it's simple, you can do anything in a "training room"
As the practice room was the first attempt of the START Box, the space was considered based on outside studio tours and interviews with experts. There are 4 sections, 3 of which are about 50m2 and 1 of which is about 40m2, and the users of the training hall can freely use the "workshop" as an ancillary facility.
Project Manager We wanted to reflect the needs of young artists in the performing arts field when designing the training room. By creating a space that does not contain too many functions and does not limit the way it can be used, we aim to meet the demands of the performing arts field that transcends theater, dance, and other genres, without satisfying the needs of either theater or dance. One of our special features is that you can choose between rooms with mirrors and rooms without mirrors, and rooms with wooden floors and rooms with linoleum floors.
Using the "practice room" of "START Box Shirahige," Von No's is a dance unit made by Uemura Yuki and Kubo Yoshie. They use it as a place for rehearsals, research, filming for advertisement and meetings for a new performance scheduled in March.
Yuki Uemura I found out about the opening of a practice room at “START Box Shirahige ” through a leaflet. We applied for the service because the fee was reasonable and the short-term intensive service of 1 month suited our needs. When I thought about using a sound source for dance practice, I wanted a space with some soundproofing.
Yoshie Kubo I liked that I could choose the floor environment at the time of application. We chose a linoleum floor, but it's nice to choose a room with a floor that can be nailed.
Yuki Uemura I appreciate that I can rent it for a certain period of time, so I can leave my stuff there. Storing balance balls, outfits, and other large props makes it easy to drop by during errands. Especially when we are doing unit activities, we have to coordinate our schedules, so we can flexibly gather for a short time in our spare time other than when we can spend the whole day, so we use the space frequently and I think we come almost every day. I'm glad that I can always keep the space I spend a long time in clean condition by using the cleaning tools provided in each room.
Yoshie Kubo Our creative style requires a lot of time for research and meetings in addition to physical activity, so whiteboards, desks, and chairs were also useful as private room equipment. “START Box Shirahige ” is not so much a rehearsal just before a performance, but a space that I feel is very suitable for the process of making pieces by repeating rehearsals and experiments in the preliminary stages.
In addition, those who use the practice hall can freely use the workshop as an ancillary facility. The workshop is equipped with sewing machines, radio cassettes, music stands, whiteboards, lesson bars, projectors, and other rental equipment. Use of the "workshop" and equipment rental are included in the usage fee.
In fact, the Von Nos seem to make the most of their time at the Start Box Shirahige Training Center, using their sewing machines to adjust their costumes and renting the lesson bar for practice.
Start Box creates a borderless platform with artists
"START Box" is very attractive in that diverse users of different ages, genres, and artist orientations can spend time together loosely through shared spaces such as "workshops" and "social spaces" while working together in "ateliers" and "practice rooms." Even if you are the same artist, the chance to meet people of different generations and genres that you don't usually meet in your daily activities is a fresh stimulus for the artist, and it may have a new influence on your own creation. And for those who have once used START Box or attended related events, it will be remembered as a place like a third place in their heart, "If you go over there, somebody's doing something." and can become a place where they can stay close to it continuously.
Vacant stores in Tokyo apartment buildings, which supported the daily lives of residents and functioned as a local community, were transformed from a place of living into a place of culture and creativity that will feed the seeds of the future of Tokyo's art scene. The START Box, which supports the activities of artists and creates new ideas and interactions through people-to-people connections, is expected to become an easy-to-use creative space for young artists and a base for new communication and communication between artists and local people.
Text: Maeda Mami
Photo: Fujishima Ryo