While the work of Japanese male photographers has received much attention in the (Western) cultural field in recent decades, their women colleagues have remained under the radar until now. The exhibitioI’m So Happy You Are Here,  presents a much-needed counterpoint, complement, and challenge to historical precedents and the established canon of Japanese photography. For the first time a large stage is provided to showcase the photographic work of 26 Japanese women photographers. Their work is characterized by creativity and experimentation and offers a new perspective on Japanese society and culture; that of the Japanese woman.  

Do you want to know more about the stories of these photographers and their photographic practices? Lesley A. Martin and Takeuchi Mariko, two of the exhibition’s curators, will take you through the exhibition and tell you more about the work and lives of these Japanese women photographers, and the influence they had. 

Lesley A. Martin is Executive Director of Printed Matter. Most recently, she was the Creative Director of Aperture, where she served as editor on more than one hundred books on photography, and as founding publisher of The PhotoBook Review.
Takeuchi Mariko is a photography critic, curator, and professor at Kyoto University of the Arts. Previously, she served as visiting researcher at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and at the National Museum of Art, Osaka.

Featured photographers: 

Hara Mikiko (1967), Hiromix (1976), Ishikawa Mao (1953), Ishiuchi Miyako (1947), Katayama Mari (1987), Kawauchi Rinko (1972), Komatsu Hiroko (1969), Kon Michiko (1955), Nagashima Yurie (1973), Narahashi Asako (1959), Ninagawa Mika (1972), Nishimura Tamiko (1948), Noguchi Rika (1971), Nomura Sakiko (1967), Okabe Momo (1981), Okanoue Toshiko (1928), Onodera Yuki (1962), Sawada Tomoko (1977), Shiga Lieko (1980), Sugiura Kunié (1942), Tawada Yuki (1978), Tokiwa Toyoko (1930-2019), Ushioda Tokuko (1940), Watanabe Hitomi (1939), Yamazawa Eiko (1899-1995) and Yanagi Miwa (1967).

The tour will be in English

Tickets: : €2,- excluding museum entrance