Press Release2016
The 32nd Higashikawa Awards
The Town of Photography
Culture Capital of Photography
Information

Higashikawa International Photography Festival Office
Mayor : Ichiro Matsuoka

HIGASHIKAWA, KAMIKAWA-GUN, HOKKAIDO**********************************************************************<Address>

HIGASHIKAWA PUBLIC

OFFICE

Organizers: Akihito Kubota, Masahito Kita
1-16-1, Higashimachi, Higashikawa, Hokkaido 071-1492 Japan
TEL. +81 166 82 2111 / FAX. +81 166 82 4704

http://photo-town.jp/

The 32nd Higashikawa Award Winners◆The Overseas Photographer Award: Oscar Muñoz (Colombia)
For photographic achievements, including the exhibition“Protographs”（Jeu de paume, Paris, 2014 and other places）◆The Domestic Photographer Award:

Taishi Hirokawa

For the photobook “BABEL – ORDINARY LANDSCAPES –”(AKAKA, 2015) and his accomplishments as a photographer◆The New Photographer Award:

Yoko Ikeda

For the photobook “Monkey Puzzle” (Nazraeli Press, 2015)◆The Special Photographer Award: Michael Kenna
For the photo series taken in Hokkaido◆The Hidano Kazuuemon Award: Yoshimi Ikemoto
For long-term achievement in photographing San-in area with afocus on Tottori Prefecture, including photography series“Kinsei miseya ko”

Commentary on the Selection of the 32nd Higashikawa Photography Awards
Michiko Kasahara, jury member

The judging of the 32nd Higashikawa Photography Awards took place at the
Kuwasawa Design School on February 23, 2016. Having gone over the list of the people
who make recommendations for nominees, we found it to be unanticipatedly extensive
and had more photographers than usual this year: 54 for the Domestic PhotographerAward, 53 for the New Photographer Award, 18 for the Special Photographer Award, 24
for the Hidano Kazuuemon Award, and 12 for the overseas Photographer Award. The
jurors gathered at 10:00 AM and carefully looked through the huge amount of works by
the nominated artists. The deliberation lasted from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. with a lunch breakin between.

The Domestic Photographer Award was given to Taishi Hirokawa. Opinions weredivided between Yoshihiko Ueda and Taishi Hirokawa, both of whom have had
impressive careers as photographers. The jury found the omnibus of Ueda’s work up
until now impressive but was won over by the way in which Hirokawa has cultivated amore expansive platform for himself as a photographer with his photography book
“BABEL - ORDINARY LANDSCAPES -”. He included photographs of mines, dams,
hillside land plots for houses, and power plants ― unromanticized views of commonly
seen instances of nature mutated by human intervention.

Opinion is divided over the New Photographer Award every year and this year
was no different. This proves that there are many qualified candidates to choose fromsince it is applied to the work of young to mid-career photographers. After a number ofvotes and discussions, Yoko Ikeda, Eriko Koga, Sohei Nishino, Takahiro Masuda,
Tamotsu Kido, Tamaki Shindo, and Kazuna Taguchi, all of whom have completely
different styles, remained. The vote went to Yoko Ikeda as the recipient of the New
Photographer Award by a small margin. She has enjoyed a high reputation as an artist
in recent years. The photography book “Monkey Puzzle” captures pedestrian shots of
Hokkaido, Nagano, Tochigi, Tokyo, Aichi, Kyoto, and Kumamoto in Japan as well asplaces in America, Belgium and the Netherlands. It is a compleat collection of her works,
marked by her distinctive humor, color, and composition.

The Special Photographer Award, which is given to a photographer associatedwith Hokkaido was given to Michael Kenna. He is an internationally acclaimed
photographer renowned for works whose poeticism is thought to be reminiscent of ink
painting. It may be that the jury overlooked him as a candidate for this award because
he is already advanced in his career. An Englishman living in America, Michael Kenna
vigorously takes photos of sceneries both in and out of country. He feels a deep
connection to Hokkaido. Related photos are included in the collection simply titled“Hokkaido”, with the famous oak tree by Lake Kussharo, affectionately known as the
Kenna tree, an outstanding example. The book “Forms of Japan” comprises choicephotos of Japan from Hokkaido to Okinawa, the fruits of a thirty year effort. These twocollections present works complementary to the nature of Japan in ways even its
residents never imagined.

The Hidano Kazuuemon Award, presented to a photographer who has made a
special contribution to a particular region, was given to Yoshimi Ikemoto. He has taken
many photos of things in and around Tottori, which is the center of the Sanin region.
Over the course of his thirty year labor, he has visited old-fashioned, individually run
shops such as shoe shops, plant nurseries, mills, barber shops, and traditional artisan
shops, all of which have made it into “Kinsei miseya ko” series. In these photographs ofa world trapped in the Showa era, time stands still; each shop owner has a uniquecharacter and a story to tell. In the ever-presence of mass market uniformity, thesephotos are a precious reminder of more personal individual human experiences andplaces.

This year, the Overseas Photographer Award was presented to a photographer
from Colombia. Colombia has suffered a long period of anxiety brought on by civil war
and drug cartel activities. However, since 2002, President Uribe worked to restore
safety to the country. As of 2007, an international photo festival, FOTOGRÁFICA
BOGOTÁ, is held biannually. With the cooperation of the locals, juror Aki Kusumoto
conducted a search for talented photographers, of whom 12 were nominated. Ranging
from the up-and-coming to veterans of their crafts, all the nominees represent
contemporary Colombia in their works. Among these, Oscar Muñoz received the
majority vote. Held in several museums including the Jeu de Paume in Paris, theexhibition “Protographs” presents a dynamic installation of themes of memories anddisappearance [death] utilizing imagery of smoke and water.

This is the 32nd year of the Higashikawa Photography Awards. We in the jury
are confident that we have chosen a group of excellent photographic artists worthy ofrecognition in this festival sponsored by the “Culture Capital of Photography.” This
festival did not come about overnight, and it is owed to more than the ability andknowledge of the jury. It depends upon the support of many people around the world
who sympathize with the purposes of the Higashikawa International Photo Festival andthe accumulated efforts of the people of Higashikawa in the 32 years since the“Photography Town Manifesto” was announced in 1985. The manifesto of the “Culture
Capital of Photography” stated that the purpose of the festival was to “encounter thephotography of the world in this small town, make contact with people from all over theworld, and produce happy smiles around the world.” As a result, Higashikawa will “takea role in creating connections between photographic culture and the people of theworld.” In this 32nd year, we hope to step out in a new direction with the people ofHigashikawa and the wonderful artists who have received awards.

The Jury Committee of the 32nd Higashikawa Awards
Katsumi Asaba <Art Director>-------------------------24th –Michiko Kasahara <Photo Critic>--------------------23rd –Aki Kusumoto <Photo Critic, Curator>-------------25th –Osamu Ueno <Photo Critic>---------------------------31st–
Kazuyoshi Nomachi <Photographer> --------------23rd –Keiichiro Hirano <Novelist>---------------------------24th –Yuri Mitsuda<Art Critic>------------------------------27th –Hiroshi Yamazaki <Photographer>------------------25th –The Overseas Photographer Award
Oscar Muñoz
Lives in Cali, Colombia

Photo by Fernell Franco

Born in Popayán, Colombia. Oscar Muñoz studied art at the Escuela de Bellas
Artes in Cali during the 1970s. As an art student, he began making drawings based on
photographic images and, although his studies did not specifically include photography
or audiovisualmedia, these media

andtheir relationships

to reality andmeaning-making have subsequently become central to his artistic practice.
Muñoz is also known for his use of ephemeral materials, in poetic reflections
upon memory and mortality. In the 1980s and 1990s, Colombia was wracked with a war
between feuding drug cartels and the Colombian government. “My work today,” Muñoz
writes, “is based on my endeavor to understand the mechanism developed by a society
which has ultimately suffered the routinization of war… A past, a present and in all
likelihood a future full of violent events on a daily basis, which are stubbornly repeated,in a practically identical fashion.”
The “Protographs” exhibition, held at several venues in Colombia, Buenos
Aires, Lima and Paris, showcases his career that has spanned nearly forty years.
“Protographs” could be seen as a potential photograph, the image just before being
frozen in the photograph.
In 2006, Muñoz founded Lugar a Dudas, a cultural center and residency
program for artists. Located in Cali, Lugar a Dudas (space for doubts) has become acenter for young artists to work through ideas and participate in a dialogue and publicdebate about art and politics.

The Domestic Photographer Award
Taishi Hirokawa
Lives in Tokyo

Born in Zushi City, Kanagawa in 1950. Established his office in 1974. His
photos have been prolific in magazines and advertising.
Following the Fukushima Atomic power plant accident, his photography
book “STILL CRAZY - Nuclear Power Plants As Seen in Japanese Landscapes-“ (Korinsha Press, 1994) gained a higher reputation. He photographed all 53 power
plants in Japan in an effort to capture the modern Japanese landscape. Althoughinvisible beyond the seacoast, his photos thrust before us the hidden reality of thenational power plants project. Started at the same time as “STILL CRAZY”, theongoing series “TIMESCAPES” captures double exposures of the great rocks andmountains in the deserts of the world against the night sky using long exposure to
combine the images under the daylight. He expresses in photography the power ofnature which surpasses human wisdom. The photography book “Babel ORDINARY LANDSCAPES -” (AKAAKA Art Publishing Inc. 2015) contains imagesof highway construction, sites of building destruction, mountains stripped of gravel,and disaster stricken areas. His works express his viewpoint of the contrast
between desire-driven human actions which affect nature and nature’s indifference
and timelessness. They serve as a superlative criticism of civilization.
He received the Photography Award of the Kodansha Publishing CultureAward with “Family Portraits” in 1986. He won the Photographic Society of Japan
Award for “TIMESCAPES - Mugen Senritsu” (Aoki Shoten Co.) and his solo
exhibition in 2003. Recent exhibitions include “BABEL - ordinary landscapes -”(CANON Gallery S, Tokyo, 2005), “TIMESCAPES 2016” (Taisho University
ESPACE KUU, Tokyo, 2016). He was a professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University
from 2011 to 2015.

The New Photographer Award
Yoko Ikeda
Lives in Tokyo

Born in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa in 1965. Graduated from the Research
Department of Tokyo College of Photography in 1995.
She continually strives to capture nonchalant images of everyday lives in thetwo-dimensional surface of photography with her unique view and composition. Her
first photography book “Incoming Light” (Le Pont Rouge, France, 2015) was captured in
Benelux in 2013. Shadows cast by the light shining through the trees; reflections ofglass and water; remnants of pebbles on the pavement--these details show theexquisiteness of color and form found in reality. Her second book, “Monkey Puzzle”(Nazraeli Press, U.S.A, 2015) spans from 2006 to 2014 and contains photographs takenin places both in and outside of Japan, including Kyoto, Okayama, Tokyo, U.S.A., andthe Netherlands. Her works feature various instances of nature interwoven with theartificial, flavored by her wit and humor.
Recent solo exhibitions include “Sensation (Gallery Mestalla, Tokyo, 2015),“Monkey Puzzle (IBASHO, Antwerp, and gallery ART UNLIMITED, Tokyo, 2016).
Group exhibitions include “Reflection (Place M&M2 gallery, Tokyo, 2013), “Secret
Garden part 2”, (gallery ART UNLIMITED, Tokyo, 2015), “Regards de femmes, (Maison
Foli, Mons, Belgium, 2015), “Contemporary Photography Asian Perspective (Lawrence
Miller Gallery, New York, 2016). In 2013, She won the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Purchase Award (86th Annual International Competition: Photography, The Print
Center, Philadelphia).

The Special Photographer Award
Michael Kenna
Lives in Seattle, USA

Born in Widnes, Lancashire, England in 1953. He majored in art at Banbury
School of Art in Banbury, Oxfordshire and majored in commercial photography at
London College of Printing in London, England. He moved to and began working as aphotographer in San Francisco in 1977.
He started taking photos in Hokkaido in 2002. Beginning with the oak tree
by Lake Kussharo known as the Kenna tree, which has since been cut down, he hascontinually taken photographs of various places in Hokkaido. His subjects are notlimited to wild nature; he also photographs man-made fences and pylons as well as
nameless trees. His works are a rich poetry of contemplation and communication withthe subjects. He published a photography book “Hokkaido” (Nazraeli Press / Shuppan
Kyodosha) in 2006. It is highly esteemed for his sublime silver print, making use of his
unique aesthetic to capture minimalist landscapes and subtle shadows and subtle
shadows, these evoke the essence of ink-painting and haiku poems.
He continually takes photographs with various themes in places such as
Europe, the U.S.A, Asia and North Africa. He has published more than 50 photographybooks. His major exhibitions include “In Japan” (Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of
Photography, 2006), “Michael Kenna-Landscape and “Memories” (Kushiro Art Museum,
Hokkaido, 2009) and “Forms of Japan”, (gallery ART UNLIMITED, 2016 ). He
published “Forms of Japan” (Prestel Pub, Germany, 2015 ) last year, a culmination ofhis photographs from the last thirty years.

The Hidano Kazuuemon Award
Yoshimi Ikemoto
Lives in Tottori

Born in Tottori City, Tottori in 1944. He discovered photography at thenewspaper company where he held his first job. He graduated from Nippon
Photography Institute (now known as Japan Institute of Photography And Film, Osaka)
in 1967. In 1970, he established the Ikemoto Yoshimi Photography Office in his
hometown of Tottori city. Beginning in 1977, he worked for the late Ueda Shoji fornearly 20 years as an assistant. He continued to take photographs of the Sanin area
featuring its regional culture as a theme. He received a Tottori City Culture Award in
1999. He revamped his office and opened the Ikemoto Yoshimi Little Museum of
Photography to promote and nurture Sanin culture this spring.
In the 1970’s, he began a series called “Sode fureaumo”. These snapshots
portray the spirituality and memories of the Sanin area. Meanwhile, he also continued
the ongoing series “Kinsei miseya ko”. This began with a photo of a barber in Aoya-cho,
Tottori city in 1983. It has since expanded to include a warehouse, shoe shop,
laundromat, fishmonger and candy store—about 60 industries and over 100 stores. In
addition to the Polaroid Gallery Toranomon (Tokyo, 1986), he has exhibited his works at
Nikon Salon (Tokyo, Osaka, 2015) and other places as well as overseas galleries.
His most prominent works are “Sode fureaumo” (G.I.P. Tokyo, 1993), “Ikemoto
Yoshimi Collection: A hundred Scenes of Tottori” (The Tottori Bank, 1999), “ Kinsei
miseya ko” (Godo Printing Company Limited, 2006), “ Portraits of Inpaku: memories ofthe future”.

Higashikawa International Photography Festival
Photo Fiesta 2016

Award Winners’ Exhibition
Date: 30 July (Sat.) – 31 August (Wed.), 2016
Venue: Higashikawa Bunka Gallery
Time: 10:00 - 17:30
Admission: ¥200 ( ¥100 for residents )Organize: The Town of Photography: Higashikawa
Address: 1-19-8 Higashi-machi, Higashikawa-cho, Kamikawa-gun, 071-1423 Hokkaido
Tel: (+81)-(0)166-82-4700 Fax: (+81)-(0)166-82-4704

Artists:
Oscar Muñoz(The Overseas Photographer Award)

Taishi Hirokawa(The Domestic Photographer Award)

Yoko Ikeda(The New Photographer Award)

Michael Kenna(The Special Photographer Award)

Yoshimi Ikemoto(The Hidano Kazuuemon Award)

Event Schedule:
30 July (Sat.)

14:00-14:30 Award Ceremony
15:30-17:00 Opening Reception

31 July (Sun.)

13:00-17:30 Panel Discussion
Panelists: award winners, judges and guests

Higashikawa Awards[Purpose]With the idea of contributing to and fostering photographic culture as well as raising
the cultural consciousness of Higashikawa residents, starting this year, 1985, we will
annually be awarding prizes accompanied by monetary gifts to the photographer for his/ her works.

[Awards]
The Overseas Photographer Award*1,000,000 yen to a overseas photographer
The Domestic Photographer Award*1,000,000 yen to a Japanese photographer
The New Photographer Award*500,000 yen to a Japanese photographer
The Special Photographer Award*500,000 yen to a photographer from Hokkaido
The Hidano Kazuuemon Award*500,000 yen to a photographer who contributed to society through photography[Conditions]
The Overseas Photographer Award is presented to a photographer in a specificcountry or region chosen each year. He / She must be either living or born in thatcountry or region.
The Domestic and the New Photographer Awards are presented to photographers
whose work has been taken within the past three years that has significance either inthe history of photography or as some unique expression of the art of photography.
The Special Photographer Award is presented to a photographer living or born in
Hokkaido or whose theme and / or object concerns this island.
The Hidano Kazuuemon Award is presented to a photographer in acknowledgement of
his longtime contributions in taking photographs of local people, nature and culture.
(The prize is open to both professional and amateur photographers.)
Of all the prizes, no specific restrictions are applied concerning the year it was taken
for the Overseas Prize, the Special Prize and the Hidano Kazuuemon Prize.

[Selection]
The works selected by nominators charged by the executive committee are judged by the
Jury Committee of the Higashikawa Award. The awards ceremony is held each year
during the period of the Photo Fiesta in Higashikawa Town and is accompanied bycommemorative symposiums and other events.

[Other Stipulations]
The monetary gift presented with the Higashikawa Awards is meant to purchase theoriginal prints of the awarded photographs. Each awardee is requested to voluntarily
submit original print(s) of his / her choice from among the awarded works to the residentsof Higashikawa town.
The residents of the town shall be responsible for storing the photographs with care andfor exhibiting them to visitors to Higashikawa, the Town of Photography.
These awarded photographs are exhibited at the Higashikawa Photography Museum inorder to contribute to promoting a friendship and cultural development of the Town ofHigashikawa.
We may present other awards to the photographs of outstanding works in order tocontribute to photographic culture as well as to development of the Higashikawa Awards.
For this reason, awards from other committees and sponsors are negotiable.

The Town of Photography
Culture Capital of Photography: Higashikawa
Higashikawa Town is located in central Hokkaido, northernmost of Japan, and is apart of Japan's largest national park "Daisetsuzan National Park" with Higashikawa's
eastern part forming a large-scale forest. Blessed with natural beauty, lots of places in
Higashikawa have been the subjects of many photographs.
Higashikawa, firstly cultivated by a group of settlers in 1895, has a shorter history
compared to that of photography invented in 1839. Higashikawa declared the “Town of
Photography” in 1985 aiming to create a town of “being a good subject to be
photographed” co-existing with beautiful nature inhabited by many species of animals
and plants.
Higashikawa established the Higashikawa Awards in the same year and started theannual summer festival of photography with the idea of contributing to and fostering
photographic culture as well as raising the cultural consciousness of Higashikawa
residents. With a history of more than a quarter of a century, it has been the nation’s
prestigious photography awards and the longest-running photography festival.
Higashikawa awards can also be noted in that it has rewarded overseas outstanding
photographers such as Joel Sternfeld, Lewis Baltz and Jan Saudek as well as domestic
photographers and introduced them to Japan. Through this, we meet people fromabroad and exchange with them. By doing so, we believe we can entrust prayer forpeace and our dreams to the future generation.
Since the declaration of the Town of Photography, Higashikawa has been a platform of
meeting people, photography culture and nature over the last 30 years. Celebrating 120
years of resource development of the land, we declared the Culture Capital of
Photography in May 2014, keeping in mind our motto “Take a picture, Save the picture,
Share it with others” and with the determination to link photography and people acrossthe world.