Kita-Kagaya, in Osaka’s Suminoe Ward, was once home to a cluster of shipyards lining the Kizu River, playing a key role in Japan’s postwar economic boom. Today, the neighbourhood still bears traces of that industrial past, with vast warehouses and former factories scattered throughout the area.
In recent years, many of these rugged industrial spaces have found new life as artists’ studios and galleries. As a result, the neighbourhood has evolved into a place where art and industry naturally intersect. Nestled among them is the multidisciplinary art space B.O.H.
The space is operated by staple studio, the creative team behind hospitality company Staple, which develops and operates hotels across Japan. In most hotels, furniture, fixtures and amenities arrive in the guest room as finished products. At B.O.H., however, the process behind their creation takes centre stage. Why would a hotel company choose to open an art gallery in this neighbourhood? We visited the space to find out.
Why Staple Opened an Art Gallery in Osaka
B.O.H. occupies three floors in Osaka’s Kita-Kagaya district. The multi-purpose space’s ground floor combines a gallery and shop, the second floor serves as furniture storage, and the third floor hosts rotating exhibitions.
The project reflects the work of staple studio, the creative team behind Staple’s hospitality projects, including SOIL Nihonbashi. Guided by the philosophy, “Create wind, cultivate soil, and reconnect a rich sense of place to the future,” Staple is involved not only in hotel operations but also in placemaking.
B.O.H. serves as a space to share the people, ideas and projects that emerge through Staple’s placemaking efforts. Its full name, Behind Objects & Humans, reflects a desire to shine a light on the people, philosophies and stories behind the things we make, as well as the history of a place and the passage of time that shapes it. The name also echoes the hospitality term Back of House, the areas of a hotel typically hidden from guests.
At most hotels, these behind-the-scenes spaces remain out of sight. At B.O.H., that hidden world takes centre stage. Rather than working with artists and makers on one-off projects, the team seeks to build lasting relationships by engaging not only with what they create, but also with the ideas, processes and personal stories that shape their work.
A Commitment to Local Context
Kita-Kagaya was a natural choice for a space as experimental as B.O.H. Once home to Osaka’s shipbuilding industry, the neighbourhood still retains a strong manufacturing spirit. That legacy closely aligns with staple studio’s commitment to working in harmony with the character and context of each place they work in.
Lining the gallery are original products born from Staple’s projects across Japan, including Setoda, Nihonbashi and Hakodate. Some are the very objects found in the company’s hotels, while others are furniture developed in collaboration with local manufacturers or works by artists discovered throughout the course of each project. Rather than being displayed as standalone pieces, they are brought together to tell a broader story.
1st image: Setoda mandarin juice produced by Staple.
2nd image: A lifestyle brand based in Finland and Japan.
WAKA WAKA × iko iko Exhibition
Beyond Consumption: The Stories Behind the Objects at B.O.H.
The objects on display at B.O.H. are valued for more than their design alone. Through carefully written captions and the way the space is curated, visitors are introduced to the stories behind each piece: why it was made, who created it, and the ideas that shaped its creation.
Rather than simply viewing the objects, visitors are invited to imagine the places they come from and the passage of time that has shaped them. Taking home a piece becomes more than an act of consumption. It is an opportunity to connect with the ideas behind the work and, in a sense, to enter into a dialogue with its maker.
Staple sees hotel-making as the practice of curating the culture and people of a place. B.O.H. extends that philosophy by bringing together the stories the team has encountered across its projects throughout Japan, weaving them into a single space that functions almost like a living medium for those narratives.
B.O.H.
5-4-19 Kitakagaya, Suminoe-ku, Osaka, Japan
Instagram: @staple_studio_
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