TUJ student Lyric Hebert works on a mural project on the main wall of a hotel in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district.
Watch a Video:
- Video documentary captures mural project from start to completion
- TUJ art students created site-specific murals through a collaboration with BnA Hotel
- Course connected classrooms learning public art practice, business and community engagement
Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ) offered students an opportunity to create mural art at a hotel in central Tokyo’s historic merchant district of Nihonbashi during the past spring 2026 semester. The university’s art program went beyond traditional classroom instruction by providing students with practical experience that connected art and business. TUJ produced a video documentary that follows the students’ journey from the first day of class to the unveiling of the completed murals.
The course provided students with an understanding of the conceptual, historical and technical aspects of mural art through a collaborative approach. Students worked on an off-campus mural project at BnA_WALL – Art Hotel, resulting in site-specific murals that transformed the hotel’s public spaces.
For more information on BnA_WALL – Art Hotel: https://bnawall.com/
BnA Hotel is an art hotel brand with locations in Tokyo and Kyoto. Each room is designed by a different local Japanese artist. This collaborative course was intended to provide students with an opportunity to apply their research and studio work in a public setting, bridging the classroom and the broader community.
For more information on BnA Hotel: https://www.bna-hotel.com/
The course was taught by Tokyo-based curator and creative director and TUJ adjunct professor Daniel Harris Rosen. It showcased the students’ creativity and hard work, highlighting their ability to transform public spaces through art.
“When I was in art school, nobody taught us what happened after graduation,” said Rosen, who is also the chief executive of TokyoDex Inc. “We learned how to make art, but not how to pitch ideas, work with clients, respond to feedback, or navigate the realities of professional practice. This course was designed to bridge that gap. Public space introduces a completely different set of challenges, and I wanted students to experience what it means to develop work for a real site, a real audience, and a real client.”
The opening event held on April 22, attended by TUJ President and Dean Matthew Wilson, faculty, staff and students, provided excellent networking opportunities and encouraged engagement with local artists.
TUJ also produced a documentary video highlighting how Rosen, students, supporters and hotel organizers collaborated throughout the project. The video follows the students’ experience from the first day of class in January through the mural opening celebration on April 22. The documentary captures classroom lectures, discussions, the mural creation process at the hotel and the opening event and condenses the experience into a 10-minute film.
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