Japanese Women Photographers spotlights the work of 27 groundbreaking artists, from the 1950s to today, whose perspectives have shaped how Japan sees itself, and how it is seen by the world.

Spanning identity, pop culture, fashion and everyday life, the exhibition celebrates internationally renowned Japanese women photographers, alongside those who have long been overlooked. The result is a powerful rebalancing of a history too often told through a single, male-dominated lens. 

Join José Neves on this short tour, offering further information about the exhibition and inviting questions from those attending. 

Free, with general admission

José Neves is Assistant Curator at The Photographers’ Gallery (TPG), where he helps develop the exhibition programme. Before joining TPG, he was a curator at Belfast Exposed Photography in Northern Ireland, organising exhibitions featuring artists such as Jo Spence, Frits de Ridder, Arpita Shah, and Yvette Monahan. He earned a PhD in Photographic History from Ulster University (2017), specialising in photobook history, and previously studied Photographic History and Practice at De Montfort University. His curatorial and research interests include the history of photobooks and artists’ books, photographic printing techniques, and narrative structures in photography, with recent research focusing on representations of HIV/AIDS in late 20th-century photography.

This event is programmed in connection to the exhibition I'm So Happy You Are Here: Japanese Women Photographers 1950s to now, curated by Lesley A. Martin, Takeuchi Mariko and Pauline Vermare. The exhibition was organised by Aperture in collaboration with the Rencontres d’Arles with support from Kering | Women In Motion, Ishibashi Foundation, Anne Levy Charitable Trust,1970 Japan World's Exposition Memorial Fund and The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. Additional curatorial collaboration for the exhibition in London, with Taous Dahmani, The Photographers’ Gallery.