Asama International Photo Festival
PHOTO MIYOTA Begins

Miyota – a city located in eastern Nagano prefecture –
lies on a plateau in the foothills of Mount Asama.

PHOTO MIYOTA is an international photography festival,
started in anticipation of a new museum of photography
now nearing completion in the Miyota city limits.

The works of photography on display at the festival
– by first-rate artists both Japanese and from abroad –
take up residence within
Miyota’s tranquil spaces: the majestic, clarified world of nature that defines the landscape,
together with the structures situated within.

Spanning from astonishingly vast photographs to images redefined as solid,
three-dimensional figures, the festival is home to works unusual and uncanny
– guests may even find themselves wondering
if certain works are photographs at all. The fair presents new encounters, and with them,
opportunities for viewers to redefine their own preconceptions.

Our exhibiting artists are unrelenting in their desire to understand the world,
and PHOTO MIYOTA is where they speak to viewers
in an articulate, visual language of photography.
In turn, festival-comers young and old tune their ears to such voices
– delving into contemplation, delight, and discussion on the meanings gathered from them.
A photographic journey for all five senses,
PHOTO MIYOTA is an experience that transcends the ordinary.

It is our hope
that Miyota becomes a forum in which we can all consider the question –
In the present day and onward into the future,
what is it that photography can show us?