Kering | Women In Motion supports for a fourth consecutive year the 12th edition of KYOTOGRAPHIE

As part of its partnership with the international photography festival KYOTOGRAPHIE, Kering is proud to support an exhibition which will be a dialogue between Rinko Kawauchi and Tokuko Ushioda, presented at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art in Kyoto, Japan, from April 13^th to May 12^th, 2024. 

Through its support to this edition of KYOTOGRAPHIE, Women In Motion is further developing its activities and commitments to concretely advancing women photographers’ visibility in their artistic field in Japan. It is also encouraging a debate about their contribution and recognition in both this discipline and culture and the arts in general, as inequality is deeply rooted in all areas of the creative arts – whereas they are by essence profoundly rich of their diversity, and one of the most efficient levers for change.

For the exhibition presented at the 12th edition of the festival, Rinko Kawauchi, one of Japan’s most internationally recognized contemporary photographers, will show her works alongside Tokuko Ushioda, who at the age of 83 is still creating vibrant new works. The exhibition will be in the form of a dialogue between two great female talents and will take place at the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art, in the South Wing 2F of the main building, located in the heart of a cultural area in the ancient city of Kyoto. Kawauchi will present works from Cui Cui and as it is, and Ushioda from Ice Box and My Husband.  Although family and children are the common subjects of both works, we can sense the different perspectives and approaches of the two artists from different generations.

“My works will be exhibited alongside Ushioda, each of both works from the two series are in a space that is the same size, located side by side. The works show the accumulation of time that we have spent. They are a record of the days we spent with our families, and they are also the result of facing ourselves. We hope to share with visitors what we have seen through the act of photography, which we have continued to do even though our generations are different, and to enjoy the fact that we are now living in the same era.” Rinko Kawauchi

“I’m going to take Ice Box and My Husband as my subjects and look at the path that I have taken so far. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what kind of view I can see from each window, Kawauchi's window and Ushioda's window. I’m quite excited. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone at Kering for making this opportunity possible.” Tokuko Ushioda

Launched in 2015 with the aim of shining a spotlight on women in cinema, Women In Motion has become a platform of choice for helping to change mindsets and fight inequality between women and men in the field of culture and the arts, notably in photography. In March 2019, Kering and the Rencontres d’Arles announced a partnership, launching the Women In Motion program at Arles. The partnership aims to contribute to the recognition of women photographers and to reach gender equality in the field.

While continuing to support talented emerging women through the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles that it has supported since 2016, Kering launched the Women In Motion LAB and the Women In Motion Award for Photography at Arles. The latter celebrates the career of an outstanding photographer every year since 2019, and is accompanied by an endowment for acquiring works by the chosen artist for the Rencontres d'Arles collection. It was previously awarded to Susan Meiselas in 2019, Sabine Weiss in 2020, Liz Johnson Artur in 2021, Babette Mangolte in 2022 and Rosângela Rennó in 2023.

In Japan, Kering supported the exhibition Women Artists from the MEP Studio, presented by the Maison Européenne de la photographie (MEP) in 2021, and 10/10 Celebrating Contemporary Japanese Women Photographers in 2022, and Views through my window, a dialogue between Ishiuchi Miyako and Yuhki Touyama in 2023, at KYOTOGRAPHIE, in Kyoto.

KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival

From our windows

With the support of KERING’S WOMEN IN MOTION

Dates: April 13th to May 12th, 2024

Venue: Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, Main Building South Wing 2F

About the artists

Rinko Kawauchi

Rinko Kawauchi (b. 1972 in Shiga, Japan) is an internationally acclaimed photographer. In 2002, she received the 27th Kimura Ihei Award for her series Utatane and Hanabi. In 2023, she was honored with the Sony World Photography Award for Outstanding Contributions to Photography. Her most notable series include Illuminance (2011), Ametsuchi (2013), and Halo (2017). Recent publications include the photobooks Yamanami (2022) and HERE AND NOW (2023, in collaboration with Shuntaro Tanigawa). Kawauchi’s work is frequently shown in exhibitions around the world and her native Japan, such as the major solo exhibition Rinko Kawauchi: M/E ― On this sphere Endlessly interlinking at Tokyo Opera City Gallery (2022) and Shiga Museum of Art (2023).

Tokuko Ushioda

Born in Tokyo, Japan. Tokuko Ushioda studied under Yasuhiro Ishimoto and Kiyoji Otsuji at Kuwasawa Design School and graduated in 1963. She taught at Kuwasawa Design School and Tokyo Zokei University from 1966 to 1978. She has worked as a freelance photographer since 1975. In 2018 her Bibliotheca series won the Domon Ken Award, the Photographic Society of Japan’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Higashikawa International Photo Festival’s Domestic Photographer Award. Other representative works include Ice Box, in which she photographed the contents of various families’ refrigerators. In 2019 she won the Kuwasawa Special Award.

About Women In Motion

Kering's commitment to women is at the heart of the Group's priorities and extends, through Women In Motion, to the field of arts and culture, where gender inequalities are still glaring, even though creation is one of the most powerful vectors for change. In 2015, Kering launched Women In Motion at the Festival de Cannes with the ambition of highlighting women in cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. The program has since expanded in a major way to photography, but also to art, design, choreography, and music. Through its Awards and Podcasts, the program recognizes inspirational figures and emerging female talent, while its Talks provide an opportunity for leading personalities to share their views on the representation of women in their profession.

Since it was created, Women In Motion has become a platform of choice that contributes to changing mind sets and thinking on the place of women - and the recognition they receive - in the arts and culture.

About KYOTOGRAPHIE

KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival is held annually over four weeks in a style that is unique in Asia. Exhibitions are staged creatively in various traditional and contemporary setting with original scenography. The festival creates opportunities, bringing people together of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds.  Now recognized as one of the world’s leading photography events, KYOTOGRAPHIE has attracted some 1,590,000 visitors from within Japan and overseas since 2013. The 12th edition of KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival will be held from April 13th to May 12th, 2024, presenting 13 exhibitions centered around the theme of “SOURCE”, shown in iconic Kyoto venues with original scenography.

About Kering

A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods and Jewelry: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, Ginori 1735 as well as Kering Eyewear and Kering Beauté. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Houses to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow’s Luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. We capture these beliefs in our signature: “Empowering Imagination”.

Contacts

Press Kering HQ

Emilie Gargatte | +33 (0)1 45 64 61 20 | emilie.gargatte@kering.com

Emma Roquier | +33 (0) 6 78 04 06 62 |emma.roquier@kering.com

Press Kering Japan

Rie Ubukata | rie.ubukata@kering.com

Eri Tamura | eri.tamura@kering.com

Press KYOTOGRAPHIE

Catherine & Prune Philippot | International Press Contact

+33 (0)1 40 47 63 42 | catphilippot@relations-media.com

Credits: From left to right: Rinko Kawauchi Untitled, from the series "as it is" ©Rinko Kawauchi, 
Tokuko Ushioda From the series "My Husband" ©Tokuko Ushioda, Courtesy PGI