2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture invites professional fine art photographers to participate in an artistic residency programme in Japan.

2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture, in collaboration with the nonprofit organization EU Japan Fest,extends an Open Call to Greek fine art photographers to participate in Mystery_8  European Eyes on Japan,  under the artistic supervision of Mikiko Kikuta. The action concerns the artistic residency of a Greek photographer in Osaka and then in Elefsina, and the presentation of the original photographs—the fruits of the aforementioned residency—which will be published and exhibited in Elefsina.

Mystery_8  European Eyes on Japan is part of the international European Eyes on Japan programme, which takes place every year in a European Capital of Culture and in a different region of Japan. The photographs resulting from this artistic process are presented in a publication under the title European Eyes on Japan/Japan Today. The photographs are then presented in the European Capital of Culture, in the context of an Exhibition open to the public, and after its end, the works are donated to the city as part of its contemporary cultural heritage.

A few words about the projects from its artistic director, Mikiko Kikuta:

European Eyes on Japan / Japan Today is an art project that brings Japan and Europe together through people’s photographic stories. We ask the photographer to understand European Eyes on Japan / Japan as a project that is not only a cultural exchange but also a contemporary photography competition. There is no definition of contemporary photography, but it is obvious that the art of photography today is different than that of the past. Today, most of us around the world can easily take photos with our smartphones. What can photography and photographers do in modern society?

Participation requirements:

The Open Call is addressed to photographers:

1. who exercise legal activity in Greece
2. whose work has an artistic orientation (fine art, conceptual, documentary, etc.), and not a commercial one (advertising, events, editorial)
3. who have exhibited their printed photographs in solo or group exhibitions
4. who have not stayed in Japan before. It is important for the photographer to have a fresh and unbiased view of the socio-political and geographical context he or she will be asked to study.
5. who are proficient in the English language