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It’s that time of the year again. KYOTOGRAPHIE is in full swing, and we are hyped about all the festivities popping up across the city! For those who don’t know, KYOTOGRAPHIE is an international photo festival held annually in Kyoto City. What distinguishes KYOTOGRAPHIE from other festivals of its kind is its use of venues scattered across the entire city, allowing attendees to enjoy the atmosphere of multiple venues with the purchase of just a single ticket, leading them on their own Kyoto adventure. One glance at the lineup will tell you that it is stacked with heralded photographers from across the globe, and the highly-varied exhibits ensure there is something for everyone.  There are 12 venues hosting the 13 primary SOURCE-themed exhibitions curated by KYOTOGRAPHIE, as well as over 100 exhibitions in their application-based KG+ offshoot.

Here are a few of the venues and photographers that we recommend for your SOURCE not-to-be-missed list!

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Kyocera Museum of Art
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Several of the participating artists in this year’s KYOTOGRAPHIE are hosted by Kyocera Museum of Art. One of them is Rinko Kawauchi. Kawauchi is a virtuoso when it comes to portraying beauty in the mundane nature of everyday life. And since having a child and documenting life with her family, she has reached an even higher level of profoundness. Though her style is one of a kind and quite impossible to replicate, she manages to exude relatability to any individual who is simply living life.
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Aside from perusing the photo exhibits hosted by Kyocera, we recommend setting some time aside to catch a breather at the venue. It is beautifully built, with the exterior being a mixture of urban white-wall architecture and classic brick and mortar in other aspects, not to mention its juxtaposition with a massive red torii gate that can be seen from blocks away. One can enter the building for free and enjoy the spacing out in the Central Hall, with its high ceilings and spiral staircase.

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Kyoto Shimbun B1F
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The Kyoto Shimbun Building will be hosting Viviane Sassen, a Dutch artist that resides in Amsterdam. Sassen has made major waves in both fashion and fine art, using geometric shapes and the contortion of bodies to create an atmosphere that is otherworldly. Not to mention, her color palette and angles are mesmerizing. One can look at a single work of hers for hours and walk away with a plethora of interpretations.

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The basement floor of the Kyoto Shimbun Building is now the skeleton of a newspaper printing plant and used as gallery space for a multitude of artists. The railings and metal pillars are still intact, making for a unique exhibition space. Couple this eccentric atmosphere with Sassen’s work, and you have an exhibition that probably can’t be found anywhere else in the world. This is a must see.

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Demachi Masunaga Shopping Arcade
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This shopping arcade is housing the works of Yoriyas (Yassine Alaoui Ismaili), a Moroccan street photographer. His works fall somewhere between the spectrum of “photo” and “performance.” Being well-versed in both planned shoots and candid documentation, Yoriyas’ work displays societal changes in the world and inhabitation of public/urban spaces. With his rich background in multiple artistic disciplines, he is truly in a league of his own, and one can see that by just walking through the shopping arcade hosting his work.

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Yoriyas has completely made the shopping arcade his own, hanging large semi-transparent multilayered photos from the ceilings of the walkway. DELTA, a KYOTOGRAPHIE-operated cafe in the center of the shopping arcade, is also displaying his work, and the geometric shapes and interior compliment it just perfectly. Nothing better than sipping on your favorite coffee brew while leisurely enjoying curated art. You just have to see it for yourself.
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TIME'S between Sanjo Ohashi and Kawaramachi Avenue
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Among the notable exhibitions hosted in this building, we would like to highlight Jaisingh Nageswaran, a photographer from India. His exhibition “I Feel Like a Fish” explores his social caste and his relationship with his family during the COVID lockdown period. He compares life with his family to a fishbowl and expertly documents that experience in his exhibition.
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This location also includes a shop to buy KYOTOGRAPHIE goods and iconic photo albums by other international artists, a cafe and even a fun photo booth with a wall exhibiting prints of visitors. It’s in the most busy and lively area of Kyoto and is another venue where one can leisurely view masterpieces and enjoy other various activities that the event, and area, has to offer.

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We introduced you to a few venues here, but this event is EXPANSIVE, with locations scattered across Kyoto. We highly recommend getting the Passport Ticket and spreading out one’s plans over the course of two or three days. Art is meant to be enjoyed at one’s own pace and in different contexts. KYOTOGRAPHIE understood the assignment and delivered in a major way. If you’re in the city during the exhibition period, we HIGHLY ADVISE you to make time to check out this highly anticipated event.
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Stay tuned for more on the KG+ side of KYOTOGRAPHIE and how the exhibitors became a part of the festival.  Who knows, it could be your photos on the wall next year!
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Happy snapping!

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