EXCALIBUR is an artist collective based in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 2007 by Yoshinori Tanaka. The name comes from Final Fantasy — the strongest weapon in the game, and one everyone can share. That was Tanaka’s ambition for the collective: a place where everyone could use the same tool and become the strongest version of themselves. It is also the sword of King Arthur, a name people of any nationality can recognise and feel included by.

Their pixel art is strongly influenced by the graphic look of 1980s Nintendo games and by the golden age of video games. They use the same 8-bit pixel as the games of that era, which gives the work a powerful sense of nostalgia. At the same time, EXCALIBUR foregrounds the advanced technology of our own age. Japanese subculture, mythology and historical events run through the work as recurring motifs.

EXCALIBUR has exhibited in Tokyo, Taipei, Beijing and Paris. In 2017 Yoshinori Tanaka won the Grand Prize in the art category of the Kyoto International Film and Art Festival, and went on to win the Shibuya Pixel Art Excellence Award three times, most recently in 2021. Active in digital art from the outset, the collective has been involved with NFTs since the very beginning.