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Wada Natsumi

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Raised by deaf parents with sign language as her first language, she was drawn anew to the potential of expressing oneself through the hands when she entered university. Through research into visual-bodily language and collaborations with people of diverse physicalities, she is exploring the potential of the senses as a medium. In recent years, she has developed games and projects that explore methods of translating language and sensation, including the sensory exploration card game “Qua|ia” (2018) in collaboration with LOUD AIR, and the tactile communication games “LINKAGE” and “Tatchimatchi” (2019) as part of the collaboration between Hayato Tabata and magnet, based on tactile sign language. As part of the collective Signed, alongside artist Mai Nagumo and programmer Hideyuki Kodama, he conducts experiments researching and expressing visual body language, as well as holding workshops in art museums. She is currently a PhD candidate in Politecnico di Milano and a researcher at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo. She qualified as a sign language interpreter in 2016. 2017–2018: ICC Intercommunication Center, emergencies!033 “tacit crelole”.

ろう者の両親のもとで手話を第一言語として育ち，大学進学時にあらためて手で表現することの可能性に惹かれる。視覚身体言語の研究、様々な身体性の方々との協働から感覚がもつメディアの可能性について模索している。近年は、LOUD AIRと共同で感覚を探るカードゲーム”Qua|ia”(2018)やたばたはやと+magnetとして触手話をもとにした繋がるコミュニケーションゲーム”LINKAGE”、”たっちまっち”(2019)など、ことばと感覚の翻訳方法を探るゲームやプロジェクトを展開。アーティスト南雲麻衣とプログラマー児玉英之とともにSignedとして視覚身体言語を研究・表現する実験、美術館でワークショップなどを行う。東京大学大学院先端表現情報学博士課程在籍。同大学総合文化研究科研究員。ミラノ工科大学デザイン学科　研究員。2016年手話通訳士資格取得。

Conference Papers / Journal Articles

Wada, N.; Gramegna, S.M.; Perotti, A.N. This Is ‘Home’: Uncovering the Multifaceted Sense of Home via Sensory and Narrative Approaches in Dementia Care. Architecture 2026, 6, 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/architecture6010017

Wada, N., Gramegna, S.M.,and Biamonti, A.(2025) "Weaving Home Over Time": Uncovering Layered Narratives of Belonging Through Participatory Homemaking in Dementia Care, in Chang, C.-Y., Chen, C.-H., & Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taipei, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.1194

Natsumi Wada, Silvia Maria Gramegna, Alessandro Biamonti” “Living my HOME”: How interior design can enhance a sense of home for people with dementia” 11th International Conference on New Trends in Architecture and Interior Design - 11th ICNTAD’25 April 25 - 27, 2025

Hino R, Umejima K, Wada N, Takei W, Kawasaki Y and Sakai KL (2025) Neural basis of linguistic factors involved in thought: an fMRI study with native signers. Front. Psychol. 16:1582136. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1582136

Natsumi Wada, Yasuaki Kakehi ” An image of ... : An Experiential Installation for Fostering a Sense of Co-presence and Co-creation through Sign Language.” Entertainment Computing Symposium Proceedings, pp. 91-96, August 23, 2021

Poster

Dementia Lab Conference 2025 – Natsumi Wada, Alicia Valencia” Expanding small worlds:Creating a cultural probe kit to investigate the small worlds of people with dementia.”

Alzheimer Europe 2024 – Natsumi Wada, Silvia Maria Gramegna“Creating Small Worlds of Home: Sensory Narrative Interventions to Support Dementia Well-Being"

INCLUDE 2015 - Natsumi Wada, Daijiro Mizuno and Yasuaki Kakehi ”A proposal of an Electronic Toolkit Workshop to Promote Understanding of how to Communicate between the Deaf and the Hearing”， Best poster， 2015.09，

INCLUDE 2015 - Daijiro Mizuno, Aiko Monoi, Kazuya Kawasaki, Natsumi Wada and Tomo Kihara”From Design with People to Design by People:”2015.09，INCLUDE 2015

Publications, projects, etc.

2023 - "Co-designing a Home with Dementia" (HOMEDEM) - a MarieSk ﾅＰdowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Network,

2022 - Metote Lab : Director: Examining the Deaf culture that has emerged from signing, and tracing its perspectives and language, the project researches and develops ways for people with diverse backgrounds to communicate based on a mutual acceptance of cultural differences.

2024 – 5005 : Co-Founder : Art and Cultural Center of Sign language

Publications,

Natsumi Wada, “Conveying, Receiving, Communicating: Interpreting New Forms of Communication,” Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Arts Council Tokyo (ISBN: 978-4-90989-425-0 C0070)