Kyoto is an inspiring place in itself, but if you want to up the impact of your next visit, then book a holiday between April 23 and May 22. The city is once again hosting the Kyotographie International Photography Festival, now in its fourth year, and will be showcasing artwork by various artists from around the globe. Over the course of four weeks, the festival spreads around Kyoto in different various contemporary and traditional architecture. This year, there will be 14 exhibitions in total, based on the theme ‘Circle of Life: The ultimate system representing the birth, life and death of all nature’s creations.’
Some of our favourite images from the lineup include Christian Sardet’s ‘Plankton: A Drifting World at the Origin of Life’, which presents interesting images of plankton shown along with sounds created by Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto; Qian Haifeng’s ‘The Green Train’ which captures the lives of Chinese locals on China's old green trains; and Finnish photographer Arno Rafael Minkkinen’s ‘YKSI: Mouth of the River, Snake in the Water, Bones of the Earth’, which is a series of nude self-portraits taken in nature.
The 15 exhibition sites are pretty impressive too – they include the Okazaki area, which is the location of the new Rohm Theatre, due to open in spring 2016, and the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. They also give visitors access to venues that are normally closed to the public such as Kondaya Genbei Kurogura, a traditional 10th generation obi purveyor.
Find out more at www.kyotographie.jp/en
Radiolarian 'Spongodiscus biconcavus' from Shimoda Bay © Christian Sardet CNRS / Tara Oceans / Plankton Chronicles
'The Green Train' © Qian Haifeng
Rhom Theater by Naoyuki Ogino
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art by Naoyuki Ogino
Marc Riboud at Kondaya Gembei © Takuya Oshima
Fosco Maraini at Gion Shimbashi © Takuya Oshima
Kimiko Yoshida at Karaku-an KYOTOGRAPHIE 2015 © Takuya Oshima
Martin Gusinde at City Hall-Shigeru Ban, KYOTOGRAPHIE 2015 © Takuya Oshima