Honk-Tweet's Journey: A New Chapter in Japan

For years, Honk-Tweet has thrived as a creative space, fostering artistic exploration and community engagement. However, due to an increasing need for space and the unexpected loss of our rental deal in Newark, we began searching for a permanent home—one that could house not only our studio but also a public-facing gallery to showcase works from our community.

The original Honk-Tweet Studio (800 Broad St, Newark, NJ) featured a 30.2 sound system with three 10-speaker rows at floor, ear, and ceiling levels, enabling precise spatial audio placement.

Newark, Baltimore, and Philadelphia were strong contenders for this new chapter, each offering unique cultural landscapes and opportunities. But just as our search gained momentum, life took an unexpected turn. Honk-Tweet's founder, Wolfgang Gil, and his wife, Airi Kiryu, made the decision to temporarily relocate to Kanagawa, Japan, to welcome the birth of their first child. With family support being a major factor in the move, the search for a new home for Honk-Tweet was put on hold.

Discovering Tokamachi

While in Japan, a new possibility emerged. Through Japanese-based French artist Luigi Honorat, Gil learned about Tokamachi, a rural yet culturally vibrant region. Tokamachi is home to the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, an internationally acclaimed festival recognized for its integration of contemporary art with the landscape and local communities. The triennial attracts around 500,000 visitors per edition, while the area's renowned winter festival brings in approximately 250,000 attendees annually. With its deep connection to the arts and strong community-driven initiatives, Tokamachi presented an unexpected yet compelling opportunity that aligned closely with Honk-Tweet’s vision.

Building a Home in Tokamachi

After about a year of traveling to Tokamachi intermittently, meeting with local community organizers and government officials, we finally found a feasible location for Honk-Tweet’s new home. With the support of the local community, renovations began, transforming the space into something that could sustain both our artistic mission and the town’s cultural landscape.

Gil and local community members working together on the museum’s renovation, including handcrafting furniture.

Renovations moved relatively quickly, and we explored different models to make the space self-sustaining. Our first step was launching a coffee shop and event space, designed to generate enough revenue to ensure operational continuity. As we worked through the logistics and tested our assumptions, a recurring topic surfaced:

Tokamachi—like many other rural and even urban areas in Japan—has a rapidly aging population. This demographic reality shapes nearly every aspect of community planning, as most resources and new developments are designed with this challenge in mind.

Expanding Our Mission: Education & Tech

This realization led us to rethink Honk-Tweet’s role in Tokamachi. How could we contribute to the local community in a meaningful way while staying true to our mission of fostering artistic exploration and engagement?

With this in mind, we designed a hands-on STEAM educational program for Tokamachi’s high school student population, leveraging years of professional experience working with companies such as Microsoft, Audible, Ford, Shopify, and others.

This program is designed not only to equip students with technical and creative skills but also to empower them to make informed decisions about their career paths in tech. By connecting them with a global network of mentors and organizations, we aim to provide them with real-world insights, internship opportunities, and career advancement pathways—all while keeping Tokamachi at the center of the conversation.

Join Us in Shaping the Future

As Honk-Tweet continues to grow in Tokamachi, we are building a global network of individuals, mentors, and organizations who share our vision for fostering creativity, education, and community engagement. Whether you are an artist, educator, technologist, or supporter of the arts, there are meaningful ways to get involved.

We invite organizations and individuals to become part of our network, contributing expertise, mentorship, or internship opportunities for Tokamachi’s youth. Additionally, those who believe in our mission can support us by becoming a contributing member of our organization, helping us sustain and expand our efforts through financial contributions.

Your support will allow us to empower the next generation, create new opportunities, and ensure that Honk-Tweet thrives as a space for innovation and artistic exploration.

If you’d like to partner with us, offer support, or learn more about our initiatives, we’d love to hear from you. Let’s build something meaningful together.

👉 Get in touch and become part of our journey!