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?