NOWHERE STUDIO PROGRAM
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Empowering Japanese Artists in New York
The NowHere Studio Program in Dumbo is a year-long residency initiative that embodies NowHere's mission to champion Japanese artists and those with ties to Japan. By providing essential studio space in the vibrant heart of Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood, the program supports creative growth and community connection.
Launched in January 2024, the program annually selects one artist to occupy a 1,400-square-foot studio surrounded by galleries, creator spaces, and bustling local businesses. This environment offers the selected artists a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a thriving artistic ecosystem. The residency culminates in a solo exhibition at NowHere's flagship space in Tribeca, showcasing the artist's work to the public.
exonemo
2024 Studio Program Artist
exonemo are an artist duo made up of Kensuke Sembo and Yae Akaiwa. They began collaborating online in the mid-1990s in Japan before relocating to New York City. Their work sits right where internet culture meets physical space—utilizing humor, glitches, and everyday technology to explore how digital life alters attention, bodies, and relationships.
Over time they’ve also made award-winning and institutionally commissioned works—like The Road Movie (2006), which won a Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica, and 0 to 1 / 1 to 0 (2019), a web piece commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art that overlays your browser with the changing sky over Manhattan. They’ve also shaped internet-to-IRL culture through projects like Internet Yami-Ichi, a flea-market format (started in Tokyo) where artists sell “internet-ish” objects and ideas in real space.
Learn more about exonemo:
exonemo.com | @exonemo
Hiroshi Masuda
2025 Studio Program Artist
Hiroshi Masuda is a Japanese visual artist based in Brooklyn, blending pop culture, Buddhism, and the Japanese concept of mitate (見立) “seeing anew,” a concept of using old things in new ways, in his work. His vibrant, cartoonish paintings juxtapose symbols, art, and everyday objects to explore cultural, social, and political themes with a playful yet profound approach.
Masuda’s signature piece, “Sahasrabhuja,” reimagines the Thousand-Armed Kannon with hands, symbolizing both contrasts and unity—a reflection of the Buddhist principle of non-discrimination. Notable collaborations include Adidas Originals, Vogue, and Armani Exchange, and his works are part of private collections, including that of singer-songwriter Sia. His artistic journey has taken him across 76 countries, shaping his unique perspective and creative philosophy.
Learn more about Hiroshi Masuda: hiroshimasuda.com | @hiroshimasud
Maiko Kikuchi
2026 Studio Program Artist
Maiko Kikuchi is a Tokyo–born, New York City–based multidisciplinary artist working across illustration, painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, animation, puppetry, and performance. Kikuchi builds surreal, handcrafted worlds rooted in that liminal space between reality and the uncanny. Her puppetry and performance works, which she writes, directs, and performs herself, have been presented at leading venues including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Public Theater, and La MaMa Experimental Theatre, among others.
An MFA graduate in Sculpture from Pratt Institute, her practice layers memory, subconscious imagery, and poetic abstraction into narratives that are humorous, tender, and emotionally resonant. Her late 2024 exhibition at NowHere was highlighted by Hyperallergic, and we look forward to sharing the next chapter of her evolving practice through the residency, which will kick off in March 2026.
Learn more about Maiko Kikuchi: maikokikuchiart.com @maikokikuchi_nyc