KG+ is a publicly recruited art festival started in 2013 with the aim of discovering and supporting upcoming talents among photographers and curators.
In 2023, the eleventh year of this festival, we aim for sending new talent from Kyoto to the world. We are going to hold an exhibition by recruiting a wide range of motivated artists.
In addition, through collaboration and simultaneous holding with the KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festival, we will provide KG + participating artists with opportunities to meet curators and gallerists in Japan and overseas to disseminate information.
The festival provides a participatory environment as an opportunity to experience art in daily life for both global stage. Also as an opportunity to experience art in daily life for both global visitors and local citizens alike. We hope that the diverse number of exhibitions held in Kyoto will serve to connect people with the local community, lead to exchange and inspire new insights.
For our eleventh edition in 2023, the “KG + SELECT” program is back after its launch in 2019. 10 artists are selected and invited to exhibition.
Towards the end of the festival period, The Grand Prize Winner selected by the KG + 2023 Jury is going to have the opportunity to participate in the following year's KYOTOGRAPHIE Main Program with a solo exhibition.
KG + SELECT is an open competition launched in 2019 as a KG + award category. Eight artists selected from entries from around the world are invited to exhibit together in the same venue for a period of one month, with production costs supported by KYOTOGRAHIE. Internationally-active judges will evaluate the exhibitions and select the Grand Prix winner, who will be awarded a subsidy to hold an exhibition at KYOTOGRAPHIE the following year. KG + SELECT has attracted widespread media attention as an exhibition-style “step up” award that promotes the development of promising artists.
These exhibitions are sponsored by companies and KG +. Curating and corporate support help participating artists mount high-quality exhibits that connect artworks, viewers, and society, while also providing messages about sponsor company initiatives.
KG + is a public photography festival featuring exhibits by upcoming artists and curators at exiting new venues. For KG + 2022, more than 60 exhibitions were held all around the city of Kyoto. The scale, time, and form of expression vary from exhibit to exhibit, but while rough, all the exhibits are original expressions bursting with energy. Yellow flags scattered throughout Kyoto mark the exhibit locations, where new discoveries and exchanges connecting neighborhoods, visitors, and artworks await.