Why
European photography is relatively unknown to Japan: Europe offers exquisite variety of creative force. Likewise, Japanese photographic community seeks for more connection with the world. The festival brings the diverse European talent to the cityscape of Tokyo, fosters new professional and creative opportunities for European and Japanese artists.
New Addition to Vibrant Tokyo
First-ever European Photography Month in Japan. Presenting world-famous and contemporary European photographers in Tokyo public spaces. More than 200 artworks by 10 authors will be presented to Japanese audiences.
European photography is relatively unknown to Japan: Europe offers exquisite variety of creative force. Likewise, Japanese photographic community seeks for more connection with the world. The festival will foster connections of Europe and Japanese art communities, and bring unique content to Japanese audiences.
Exhibitions and events are free and in public spaces, bringing art to people: on construction site walls, in subway and train stations, in Embassies and culture institutes, cafes and galleries.
International Exchange
SEEEU aims to connect artistic communities of Japan and Europe, give new professional opportunities. The value for European photographers is obvious; and we strive to make this festival valuable to Japanese professionals, too. Through networking, portfolio reviews, studio and institutional visits, connecting both parts of the world.
Mutsuko Ota
Mutsuko Ota is a curator and editor with a focus on photography. After graduating from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Waseda University, she worked in the Public Relations Department at Suntory and then at the editorial department of Marie Claire. She went on to cover art, photography, literature, travel and lifestyle at magazines such as Esquire and GQ. Later, as a freelance editor, she was involved in editing magazines and books, managing art projects and producing museum catalogues. In 2012, she founded the art photography magazine IMA. As Editorial Director, she has led various initiatives centred around art photography, including publishing photo books under the “IMA Photobooks” label, directing exhibitions for the Asama International Photo Festival and serving as a judge for photography awards.
Kim Boske
Kim Boske is an Amsterdam-based artist and curator interested in the quiet complexity of how we perceive and construct the world around us, often through visual explorations of time and nature. While primarily known for her photographic work, she also plays an active role in the international photography field as a curator and program developer.
Since 2023, she has been responsible for initiating and coordinating the residency program of FUTURES, the European platform for photography. Together with a team of collaborators, she curates the selection of artists through an open call within the FUTURES network. The program has so far supported artists such as Hien Hoang, Claudia Fugetti, Yu Shuk Pui Bobby, Valeria Cherchi, Nikhil Vettukattil, and Nicolas Polli. Partnerships have also been established with Capa Center (Budapest) and ISSP (Riga), where artists including Tim Rod and Julius Thissen have recently participated in residency exchanges.
As a visual artist, Boske has exhibited at institutions including the Brooklyn Museum (New York), Atelier Néerlandais (Paris), Foam Fotografiemuseum (Amsterdam), Nederlands Fotomuseum (Rotterdam), Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum – Mozart Wohnhaus (Austria), and the Centre Photographique Rouen, in collaboration with the Botanical Gardens of Rouen (France).
Sergej Grigorjev
Sergej Grigorjev is a creative producer working across visual storytelling, technology and public event formats. He is the founder and head of KOI - a studio dedicated to arttech and cultural production. His work ranges from the biggest Japanese cultural festival in Lithuania, virtual reality productions to exhibitions and large-scale public installations. Sergej has developed and produced over 30 independent cultural projects, including the interactive digital book story ‘Noble Rogues’, photography exhibition ‘Human Baltic’ (Aoyama Spiral, 2024) and the annual platform ‘Creative Lithuania in Tokyo.’