World-renowned curators (from the Pompidou Center, MoMA, V&A, etc.) to visit Japan for “T3,” Japan’s largest urban art festival
TOKYO INSTITUTE of PHOTOGRAPHY General Incorporated Association Press Release: September 8, 2025 Japan’s largest urban art festival, “T3,” will bring world-renowned curators (from the Pompidou Center, MoMA, V&A, etc.) to Japan. A spectacular talk show featuring prominent figures in the art world both in Japan and abroad will be held during the exhibition period, starting on Saturday, October 4th.
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From left: Florian Ebner (Curator, Centre Pompidou), Roxana Marcoci (Curator, MoMA), Martin Barnes (Curator, V&A) T3, a platform that hosts one of Japan’s largest urban art festivals, has decided to hold a talk event during the festival featuring 10 international curators and other figures active in the art world both in Japan and abroad. With the T3 project attracting significant attention from overseas, these individuals, who support its significance, will share their perspectives on photography in Japan and Asia in this spectacular talk. What Florian Ebner, curator of the “Wolfgang Tillmans” exhibition, has to say? The “Wolfgang Tillmans” exhibition was the last large-scale exhibition held at the Pompidou Center before its renovation and achieved great success. How was this exhibition positioned and what significance did it have? Also, in what context will the Centre Pompidou, which has until now treated photography as an important pillar of contemporary art, develop photography in the future? We will discuss his interest in photography in Japan and Asia, as well as his outlook for the future. ＜Message from Florian Ebner＞ Perhaps the “garden” is the right place, the appropriate metaphor, and, beyond all ideologies that no longer hold validity, the only utopia we have left. How does urban space connect with the idea of ”protected, constructed space” symbolized by the garden? And how can photography translate that idea? For these reasons, I’m deeply interested in T3, particularly Asian contemporary photography and the book fair “T3 Photobook Marche” that will be held as part of the festival. Books remain one of photography’s most important media, and the worlds they encase within their covers embody enclosed, cultivated spaces, like gardens. Books also played an important role in Wolfgang Tillmans’ large-scale exhibition, currently wrapping up at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. I’ll be discussing the exhibition in my talk at T3. Florian Ebner Profile Born in Regensburg, Germany in 1970. In the 1990s, he studied photography in Arles, France, and art history at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, and taught as an artistic assistant at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig (HGB) from 2000 to 2006. After working at the Berlinische Galerie and the Fotomuseum Braunschweig, he served as curator of the photography collection at the Museum Folkwang in Essen, Germany, from 2012 to 2017, and is currently head of the photography department at the Centre Pompidou. Various talk sessions are scheduled at three venues during the event. *The following is only a partial list of the talk session content. Details will be updated on our website and social media. 1. T3 Talk Program With the T3 Project attracting significant attention from overseas, we will be holding a spectacular talk session featuring people active in the art world both in Japan and abroad who share our shared vision for the project, sharing their perspectives on photography in Japan and Asia. Date & Time | Saturday, October 11th, 2025 – Monday, October 13th, 2025 (National Holiday) Venue | Tokyo Midtown Yaesu 5F STUDIO Admission | Paid (online streaming available) /
https://t3talkprogram.peatix.com *Those who purchase T3 PHOTO ASIA tickets on ArtSticker will receive a free talk on the day of their visit. Saturday, October 11 ・11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Curators of the Centre Pompidou’s Tillmans Exhibition Look at “Photography and Japan/Asia” / Guest: Florian Ebner (Curator, Centre Pompidou) ・13:30~14:30｜MoMA’s Thoughts on the Cutting Edge of “Contemporary Photography” / Guest: Roxana Marcoci (MoMA Curator) Sunday, October 12 ・11:00-12:00 | Why Photography Has Been and Continues to Be an Important Medium for the Victoria and Albert Museum / Guest | Martin Barnes (V&A Curator) ・13:30-14:30 | The MET Photography Collection: Diversity, Global Perspectives, and Dialogue with Other Genres (tentative title) / Guest | Lisa Sutcliffe (Curator of Photography, The Metropolitan Museum of Art) ・15:00-16:30 | New Talent Exhibition Link: Public Review on Five Views / Guests | Lesley Martin (Executive Director, Printed Mater), Diane Dufour (Founder and Co-Director, LE BAL), Thyago Nogueira (Executive Director, IMS Contemporary Photography) / Facilitator | Kaho Ikeda (Independent Curator) ・17:00-18:30 | Imprinting the Future: New Perspectives Opened Up by Female Photographers from Japan and Korea, Presented by AWARE / Guests | Miyako Ishiuchi (Photographer), Kim Honghee (Art Historian) / Facilitators | Marina Amada (AWARE Japan Representative, Independent Curator), Nina Volz (AWARE International Program Director) Monday, October 13th (National Holiday) ・11:00-12:00 | STUDIO | Expanding Contemporary Photography Exhibition: The Changing Value Creation of Contemporary Photography as Seen in the Works of Momo Nakagawa and To Seiyo Tou The Current State of “Post-Photography” / Guests: Nakagawa Momo (Artist), To Seiyo To (Artist), Facilitator: Kita Keishu (Contemporary Photography Researcher) ・13:30~14:30 | T3 PHOTO ASIA Collaboration: Taiwan Focus (tentative title) / Guests: Sharleen Yu (Senior Curator, Taipei Fine Arts Museum), Chung-Hsuan LAN (Artist, Curator, Each Modern Fair Director) 2. OPENING SPECIAL TALK In conjunction with the T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL TOKYO’s main exhibition, “City as Garden,” a talk show will be held with two participating artists. Date & Time | Saturday, October 4th, 2025 and Sunday, October 5th, 2025, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Guests | Melissa Schriek (4th), Stephen Gill (5th) Venue | Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, 1st Floor Hall
Admission｜Free (application required) 3. PHOTOBOOK MARCHE TALK “T3 PHOTOBOOK MARCHE 2025,” held as part of the T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL TOKYO event, is a book fair centered on photo books. A diverse range of exhibitors, from approximately 60 publishers to independent artists and students, will gather together, interacting like a market with everyone involved in photography, and showcasing and selling their works directly. A talk session will also be held in conjunction with this event. Date & Time | Saturday, October 4th, 2025 and Sunday, October 5th, 2025, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM Venue A | Tokyo Square Garden 1F Passageway Venue B | City Lab Tokyo (Tokyo Square Garden 6F) Admission | Free (no reservation required) What is T3? | Making Tokyo a city of photography.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/85103/13/85103-13-bb7aa1b994ea724e5294b21831296b3b-1800×2700.jpg Exhibition view in 2024 Since 2020, T3 has been held in collaboration with the local community in the area east of Tokyo Station (Yaesu, Nihonbashi, Kyobashi). It is a comprehensive photography project that combines festivals, fairs, and development programs. “T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL TOKYO” offers artists an international platform for presenting and creating their work in the city of Tokyo. “T3 PHOTO ASIA” launched as an art photography market in Asia. And “T3 NEW TALENT” is a program that fosters new talent through the crossover of festival and fair environments. Through these programs, we aim to expand the activities of artists and art workers and connect culture to the next generation. [Grant]
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