KYOTOGRAPHIE 2027 Opens April 17; Kyoto International Photography Festival to Include an Exhibition by the KG+ Award Winner

The Kyoto International Photography Festival “KYOTOGRAPHIE 2027” will be held in Kyoto from Saturday, April 17 to Sunday, May 16, 2027. KYOTOGRAPHIE announced the dates on its official website on September 29, 2026, saying details such as the theme, artists and venues will be announced later. Meanwhile, according to the official website of “KG+,” the affiliated open-call art festival, Sridhar Balasubramaniyam, who received the 2026 “KG+SELECT Award,” will hold an exhibition as part of the 2027 main program.

What is KYOTOGRAPHIE? A photography festival held in venues from machiya townhouses to temples

KYOTOGRAPHIE is an international photography festival co-founded in 2013 by Yusuke Nakanishi and Lucille Reyboz. According to its official website, it is held every spring in Kyoto’s cultural spaces, such as machiya townhouses, galleries, museums and temples. It is known for exhibition designs that make use of historic buildings and has created exhibition spaces in collaboration with architects and artisans from Japan and abroad.

The previous edition in 2026 was held from April 18 to May 17. The 2026 exhibition list on the official website includes Daido Moriyama, Anton Corbijn, Linder Sterling, Ernest Cole and Pieter Hugo. Venues included Hachikuan (the former Kawasaki family residence), the 2nd floor of the South Gallery in the main building of the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, the Grand Entrance of Higashi Honganji and the Chikuin no Ma at Kondaya Genbei.

Its activities are also expanding beyond Kyoto. At Japan House London, “Kyotographie: Kawada Kikuji x Iwane Ai,” curated by KYOTOGRAPHIE, was held from Wednesday, June 3 to Sunday, October 18, 2026. The exhibition presented works by Kikuji Kawada and Ai Iwane. In June, KYOTOGRAPHIE also announced its participation in the associate program of Les Rencontres d’Arles.

What has been decided for 2027: an exhibition by the KG+SELECT award winner

KG+ is an open-call art festival launched in 2013 to discover and support promising photographers and curators. It marked its 14th edition in 2026. It is held in partnership with KYOTOGRAPHIE, and yellow flags around the city mark its venues.

According to the KG+ official website, Sridhar Balasubramaniyam was selected as the winner of the KG+SELECT Award 2026. At KYOTOGRAPHIE 2027, an exhibition of Balasubramaniyam’s work will be held as part of the main program.

KG+SELECT 2027 results to be announced in early December

For KG+SELECT 2027, exhibitors were invited to apply from August 20 to October 10, 2026. Open to anyone regardless of age, occupation, nationality or experience, it covered solo exhibitions of photography, or of video, installation and other work containing photographic elements. The application fee was 10,000 yen, and each application came with one passport (ticket) for KYOTOGRAPHIE 2027. In July, KG+ had announced that it would open applications earlier than usual.

About 10 finalists will be chosen by the jury, with results to be announced on the KG+ official website around early December. The finalists will hold a group exhibition at one venue during the festival, and each will be given about 20 square meters of exhibition space and a production grant of 200,000 yen. The winner of the KG+SELECT Award, chosen by a jury during the festival, will receive a production grant of 500,000 yen and a solo exhibition in the official program of KYOTOGRAPHIE 2028, among other prizes. The jurors will be announced at a later date.

Tickets and venues to be announced

As of October 20, details of ticket prices, venues and the portfolio review for 2027 were not posted on the official website. The Portfolio Review 2027 page says “More Info Coming Soon.” KYOTOGRAPHIE says it plans to make several announcements in the run-up to the festival.

In Kyoto, ahead of the photography festival, the art fair for young artists “ARTISTS’ FAIR KYOTO 2027” opens on March 5 at the Meiji Kotokan of the Kyoto National Museum. Other art festivals and art fairs in Japan are gathered in our art fair and art festival calendar.

Overview

Name: KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festival 2027
Dates: Saturday, April 17 – Sunday, May 16, 2027
Venues: Kyoto (venues to be announced)
Admission: Not announced
Co-founders: Yusuke Nakanishi, Lucille Reyboz
Related: KG+ (open-call art festival; KG+SELECT 2027 finalists to be announced in early December)
Official website: https://www.kyotographie.jp/
*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: The KYOTOGRAPHIE 2023 information center [Hachikuan] (photo: Toyotsu, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on an announcement by KYOTOGRAPHIE (September 29, 2026) and information on the official websites of KYOTOGRAPHIE and KG+.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team