Note: Kyotographie international photography festival is held across multiple venues in Kyoto.
Now in its 14th edition, the annual Kyotographie has consistently highlighted pressing issues through photography while showcasing revolutionary ideas that push this versatile medium in unexpected directions. For 2026, the international photography festival’s theme ‘Edge’ feels especially poignant, not just in describing photography but also the state of the world today.
Here, ‘edge’ can refer to the border between opposing forces, a state of tension, or a tipping point of transition. Conceptually, the theme draws on photography’s precarious position on the fringes, often straddling the line between art and documentary, and, with the rise of new technologies such as generative AI, between truth and fiction.
This sense of division, whether it is uncertainty or possibility, is reflected in the works of 13 photographers from eight countries. Here, the featured works address a wide range of subjects including marginalised communities and overlooked places as seen through the lens of colonisation and territorial disputes, the fraught relationship between humans and nature, and conditions of urban decline. Alongside these, you’ll also find exhibitions that focus on experimental approaches to photography, highlighting new ideas and techniques in image-making.
Key exhibitions include: a retrospective on radical Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, a tribute to the late Palestinian photographer Fatma Hassona, a showcase of Dutch photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn’s portraiture including celebrities like David Bowie, and Kenyan photographer Thandiwe Muriu’s latest body of work produced during her Kyoto residency. This year, Kyotographie will also highlight three South African photographers whose creations explore the region’s political history and photographic tradition.
As always, Kyotographie’s exhibitions are a multi-faceted collaboration between photographers, artists, curators and local craftpeople. This results in captivating site-specific experiences that take place in a wide range of locations from heritage buildings and art institutions to prized architectural landmarks.
