Time: 9.20 (Sat) 14:00-17:00
Venue: Jut Hall
Registration: Free Admission via Online Registration
▶Phase 1 Registration: 7.2 (Wed)-8.26 (Wed), open to TIPF exhibition ticket holders and Jut Art Museum members
▶ Phase 2 Registration: Opens on 8.27 (Wed) to the general public
AKAAKA Art Publishing Inc. (AKAAKA), based in Kyoto, Japan, was founded by its editor-in-chief, Kimi Himeno, in 2006. It is not only a key force in Japanese photography publishing but also a pioneer in enhancing photobooks’ position as a dialogue platform of art and culture.
Focused on photography publishing, AKAAKA has discovered and supported numerous emerging photographers with its keen vision and unique editorial perspective. Many of its publications have been honored with the Kimura Ihei Photography Award, one of Japan’s most prominent photography awards.
In addition, AKAAKA constantly investigates and expands the boundaries of imagination in Japanese contemporary photography through photo slideshows, exhibitions, and international art book fairs, gradually establishing a notable presence in the global communities.
This talk invites Kimi Himeno, the driving force and editor-in-chief behind AKAAKA, to share how photography bridges the gaps between individuals and society, and across cultures, while exploring the role of publishing in this dynamic.
Joining her are four Japanese contemporary photographers—Masashi Asada, Ryuichi Ishikawa, Sayaka Uehara, and Yuki Shimizu—longtime collaborators of AKAAKA. Together, they will discuss how their works respond to their era, surroundings, and life experiences via screenings and live conversations.
Photography is not only a way of seeing but also a creative medium that connects society, culture, and thoughts. From gazes before the lens to rhythms between pages, this talk invites audiences to explore AKAAKA’s publishing philosophy and the visual aesthetics of the four contemporary Japanese photographers.
＊In Japanese (with Taiwanese Mandarin consecutive interpretation)
▌Speakers
｜Kimi Himeno
After founding AKAAKA in 2006, Himeno has published over 200 books, mainly on photography and art. These include CANARY by Lieko Shiga and I am by Atsushi Okada, winner of the 33rd Kimura Ihei Award; Asada Family by Masashi Asada, winner of the 34th Kimura Ihei Award; MID and GROUND by Kozue Takagi, winner of the 35th Kimura Ihei Award; The Other Bank by Shin Momoshi, winner of the 38th Kimura Ihei Award; Zekkei no polyphony and okinawan portraits 2010-2012.
She has served as a jury member and portfolio reviewer for KYOTOGRAPHIE from 2022-2024 and the 11th Three Shadows Photography Award in 2019.
｜Masashi Asada
Masashi Asada is a photographer born in Mie Prefecture in 1979. He graduated from the Japan Institute of Photography and Film, and began his career as a freelance photographer after working as a studio assistant.
In 2009, he received the 34th Kimura Ihei Photography Award for his photo book Asada Family (published by AKAAKA in 2008).
｜Ryuichi Ishikawa
Ryuichi Ishikawa was born in Okinawa in 1984. In 2010, he studied under photographer Tetsushi Yuzaki. In 2011, he participated in the Shomei Tomatsu Digital Photography Workshop. He received the 35th New Cosmos of Photography Honorable Mention for okinawan portraits in 2012. In 2015, he received the 40th Kimura Ihei Photography Award and the Photographic Society of Japan Newcomer’s Award.
Ishikawa’s major solo exhibitions include zk (2022-23, PURPLE, Kyoto), The Inside of Life (2021, Sai Gallery, Tokyo), OUTREMER / Ultramarine (2017, Atsukobarouh, Tokyo), Once Thinking, Nothing before Eyes (2016, Yokohama Civic Gallery Azamino, Yokohama), Okinawan Portraits 2012-2016 (2016, Art Gallery Artium, Fukuoka), A Grand Polyphony (2014-2015, Tokyo, Osaka, Paris), Okinawan Portraits (2014-2015, Tokyo, Osaka), Zkop (2014, Atsukobarouh, Tokyo), and RYUICHI ISHIKAWA (2014, gallery Lafayette, Okinawa).
｜Sayaka Uehara
Sayaka Uehara was born in Okinawa Prefecture in 1993. She produces photographic works as memories and scars manifested within landscapes, and engages in practices that capture layers of time preserved by places and things.
Uehara’s photobook is Nemuru Ki (Sleeping Trees; 2022) released through AKAAKA, and her major solo exhibitions include Midori no Heya (Green Rooms; 2024, MISA SHIN GALLERY), Nemuru Ki (Sleeping Trees; 2022, Nikon Salon, Foto Space Reago), and The Others (2019, Canon Open Gallery 1, INTERFACE-Shomei Tomatsu Lab).
Uehara won the 36th Higashikawa New Photographer Award, as well as the VOCA Encouragement Prize and Ohara Museum of Art Prize at VOCA Exhibition 2024.
｜Yuki Shimizu
Yuki Shimizu was born in Japan in 1984. She graduated from Musashino Art University in 2007. Shimizu received the 5th Photography 1_WALL Grand Prize in 2011 and the 18th Miki Jun Award in 2016.
She began writing novels around 2017 and won the Literary Award of Shinchosha. Shimizu has published three novels and a photo book titled Shore from AKAAKA. Along with photographing landscapes, she weaves stories through photography and prose, which are born from researching the history and legends behind these landscapes.
Recent exhibitions include MOT Annual 2024: On the Imagined Terrain (2024, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo), the solo exhibition Surfacing (2024, PGI), and Shore (2024, Purple).
▌Moderator
｜Peng-Hui Hou
Peng-Hui Hou was born in Taichung in 1982. He holds a Doctorate in Art from Nihon University, Japan, and is currently a faculty member at National Taiwan Ocean University, specializing in photography research, education, and curation. He received the Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association Scholarship, and his work won the Sawamoto Noriyoshi Award and is collected by the Art Bank Taiwan. He also participated in the exhibition Faint Light, Dark Shadows at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
Hou has curated numerous photography exchange programs and lectures between Taiwan and Japan. He served as a curator for the Taipei International Photography Festival (Taipei Photo) and as a lecturer at the Nippon Photography Institute. His academic research focuses on the development and influence of Japan’s photography exhibition culture. He is the author of the doctoral dissertation A Historic Study of Photography Exhibitions in Japan: Post World War II to Establishment of Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.