Conference "NEW TALENTS - Perspectives from a new generation"

This conference will be organized as part of our Focus on new Japanese photography.

Speakers:

Mutsuko Ota, born in 1968. After studying at Waseda University, she joined the public relations department of Suntory Holdings Limited. She then worked for magazines such as Marie Claire, Esquire, and GQ, where she covered cultural pages. Subsequently, she pursued her career as an editor of art books, exhibition catalogues, and literary works. In 2012, she launched the photographic magazine IMA within the Amana group. Alongside her online magazine activities, photography book publishing, and gallery management, she is also the director of the Asama International Photo Festival and participates on the juries of several photography awards.

THE COPY TRAVELERS, a collective formed in 2014 by artists Shunsuke Kano, Teppei Sako, and Yaya Ueda, all based in Kyoto. The group blends their respective practices, mainly centered on photography and video. They daily experiment with the possibilities of reproducibility through tools such as photocopiers, scanners, and cameras. In addition to publishing art books, the collective carries out exhibition projects, workshops, and other activities. Their main recently organized exhibitions: "Kaze no Naka wo Tobu Shushi (Seeds Flying in the Wind)" (Hachinohe Art Museum, Aomori, 2024), "Kangaeru Te, Taikuu suru Me (Thinking Hands, Hovering Eyes)" (THE GALLERY OF IBARAKI, Ibaraki Create Center, Osaka, 2023), "Nichijou wo Totonoeru (Arranging the Everyday)" (Hajimari Art Center, Fukushima, 2022), "VOCA Exhibition 2022 – The Vision of Contemporary Art" (Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, 2022), "Super-fine" (Ilmin Museum of Art, Seoul, 2021), and "MOT Annual 2019 Echo after Echo: Summoned Voices, New Shadows" (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2019).

Kenji Chiga, born in 1982 in Shiga Prefecture. He explores the invisible relationships between the individual and society by using different technical approaches for each work. His works and publications have received numerous awards in Japan and abroad. His photo book HIJACK GENI, winner of the Singapore International Photography Festival Grand Prize, was published by IANN BOOKS in 2024. His main recent exhibitions include "Mazu, Jibun de Yattemiru (First, I try it myself)" (BUG, 2024) and "The Gaze of the Present Contemporary Japanese Photography vol. 21" (Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, 2024).

Eri Minamikawa, born in 1985. Based in Tokyo. She began her artistic career in 2022. She currently works for several companies while studying at the Tokyo College of Photography. Interested in everyday environments, she creates works that reveal, through photography, the social issues, structures, and invisible systems that hide behind what we consider "ordinary." She is currently working on her own experience as a woman, particularly surrounding marriage and parenthood, producing works in which she herself is featured. She received the 5th epSITE Gallery Award in 2024 and is participating in KG + SELECT 2025.

Shohei Miyachi, born in 1989 in Shizuoka Prefecture. A photographer whose work explores themes of communication, identity, and performance. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in photography from the School of Visual Arts and a Master of Fine Arts in photography from the Pratt Institute. His recent exhibitions include "Shohei Miyachi and Context" (MATTE HQ, New York, 2021), "Clandestine - The Human Body in Focus" (Cobra Museum of Modern Art, Amsterdam, 2021), "Blow" (The container, Tokyo, 2021), and "Untitled Performance Piece" (Koganecho International Artist's Network, Koganecho Area Management Center, Yokohama, 2023), among others.

Mayumi Suzuki, born in 1977 in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture. Photographer and visual storyteller based in Tokyo. Holds a degree from the photography department of the Faculty of Arts at Nihon University. Her work focuses on transforming personal pain and collective memory into photographic narratives. Her family has a long history with photography: her grandfather founded a photo studio in Onagawa in 1930. On March 11, 2011, a tsunami destroyed 70% of her hometown and claimed the lives of 10% of Onagawa's population, including her parents. This tragedy inspired her to become a photographic artist, using the image to tell stories and preserve the traces of lost lives. In 2018, her book "The Restoration Will" received the best international photography book award at PhotoEspaña. Her exhibition "Répliques 11/03/11" was also presented at the Espace Van Gogh as part of the Rencontres d'Arles 2024. She is currently working on a project titled "Layers of Time: Tracing the Memories of Onagawa", dedicated to her hometown. This project observes over a decade of reconstruction after the tsunami and questions the notions of "change" and "loss" from the perspective of her family's photographic studio legacy.

Marc Feustel, independent curator, writer, and editor, specializing in Japanese photography. He regularly writes about photography and photo books for publications such as The Eyes, Foam, IMA, and Tempura. As an editor and translator, he works with publishers and institutions such as Flammarion, Hazan, Lafayette Anticipations, the Pinault Collection, the Réunion des Musées nationaux (RMN), and Éditions Dilecta.

This project is labeled Bicentennial of Photography by the Ministry of Culture and is part of the official Bicentennial programming from September 1, 2026, to September 30, 2027.