‘Pop Fly and Vacant Lot’ (2021), The Copy Travelers
For its 2025 edition, the T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL turns the spotlight on five Japanese photographers whose work carries strong potential beyond national borders. Selected by an internationally diverse panel under the label ‘T3 NEW TALENT’, these artists embody the dynamism and evolving landscape of Japanese photography. Curator Kaho Ikeda shares her insights on this year’s selection.
Supporting the next generation of photographers has been one of the festival’s founding principles. Until now, T3 primarily offered a platform for students aspiring to become artists, providing them with a space to exhibit their work. This year, the scope widens to include photographers already active within Japan, as well as curators and art critics. The exhibition of the five selected photographers was curated by Kaho Ikeda, known for her dynamic work in the field of contemporary art.
‘What struck me once again,’ Ikeda explains, ‘is how photography encompasses an incredibly diverse range of practices. Each artist approaches the medium differently, expanding its expressive potential through the choice of materials, techniques, and areas of interest.’ Under the title Five Views, the exhibition brings together a constellation of perspectives that echo and respond to one another, inviting viewers to rediscover the breadth of what photography can be.
Throughout the festival, workshops and talks will also take place, opening discussions around the artists’ works and processes to a wider audience. The T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL’s approach—fostering an active dialogue between creation and the public—is one of its most compelling aspects.
THE COPY TRAVELERS
The Copy Travelers
Formed in 2014, The Copy Travelers is a Kyoto-based collective that brings together artists Shunsuke Kano, Teppei Sako, and Ryo Ueda. While each maintains an independent practice focused on photography and video, their collaboration blends their individual approaches into experimental works exploring the notion of ‘reproduction.’ Using photocopiers, scanners, and cameras as creative tools, they test the boundaries of image-making. The group also publishes art books and hosts exhibitions and workshops. Recent shows include Seeds Flying in the Wind (Fū no naka o tobu tane) at the Hachinohe Art Museum in Aomori Prefecture.
KENJI CHIGA
‘Bird, Night, and then’ (2010–2017)
Born in 1982 in Shiga Prefecture, Kenji Chiga examines the boundaries and tensions that lie between reality and fiction, between the individual and the collective. His work deciphers the often-invisible structures and dynamics embedded within society, combining research with experimental methods to reveal their interconnections. At the core of his creative process is the dummy book, a constant foundation in his practice. Recipient of the 1_WALL Grand Prix and the Excellence Award at the Photographic New Century competition, Chiga has recently exhibited works such as First, Try It Yourself (Mazu, jibun de yatte miru., BUG) and Japan Emerging Artists vol.21 at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum.
‘The Suicide Boom’ (2018–2019)
‘HIJACK GENI’ (2021)
Kenji Chiga
MAYUMI SUZUKI
‘The Tide’s Gift—Tracing Memories of Onagawa’ (2024)
Born in 1977 in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, Mayumi Suzuki is a photographer and storyteller whose work transforms personal pain into narrative. As the third-generation successor of her family’s photo studio, her practice is deeply rooted in the experience of losing her parents during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Through photography, she intertwines memory and documentation, bridging the personal and the historical. Her book The Restoration Will received the PHOTO ESPAÑA International Photography Book of the Year Award. Recent exhibitions include Japan Emerging Artists vol.17 at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and participation in the Rencontres d’Arles. She is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Photography at Nihon University College of Art.
‘The Tide’s Gift—Tracing Memories of Onagawa’ (2024)
‘The Tide’s Gift—Tracing Memories of Onagawa’ (2024)
Mayumi Suzuki
SHOHEI MIYACHI
‘Untitled’ (2024)
Born in 1989 in Shizuoka Prefecture, Shohei Miyachi’s practice revolves around themes of communication, identity, and performance. Holding a BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts and an MFA in Photography from Pratt Institute, he explores physical and psychological connections with strangers through his lens. His performance-based portraits are rooted in intimacy and corporeality, using physical beauty as a medium for human connection. Recent exhibitions include Shohei Miyachi and Context at MATTE HQ in New York.
‘Untitled’ (2024)
Shohei Miyachi
ERI MINAMIKAWA
‘Today Again’ (2022)
Born in 1985 in Tokyo, Eri Minamikawa began her artistic career in 2022. While working in the corporate sector, she is currently studying at the Tokyo College of Photography. Her work focuses on the everyday environments that shape life, revealing the social systems and structures hidden within the seemingly ordinary. Drawing from her own experience as a woman—particularly in relation to marriage and motherhood—she transforms her personal life into the subject of her photography.
The exhibition T3 NEW TALENT Five Views is held at HANASAKA SQUARE and Tomohiko Yoshino Gallery.
T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL TOKYO 2025
Dates: October 4–27, 2025
Venues: Tokyo Midtown Yaesu, Tokyo Tatemono Nihonbashi Building, Tokyo Tatemono Yaesu Building, Toda Building, Tokyo Square Garden, Yanmar Tokyo, Tomohiko Yoshino Gallery, as well as various indoor and outdoor spaces across the Yaesu, Nihonbashi, Kyōbashi, and Ginza districts.
Opening hours: vary by location
Admission: free
Contact: t3_pr@tip.or.jp
t3photo.tokyo/festival-2025
‘Today Again’ (2022)
‘Today Again’ (2022)
Eri Minamikawa
AloJapan.com