![Yebisu Festival examines documents and documentary](/content/images/size/w1200/2025/01/liu_yu_if_narratives_001.jpg)
The Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions is preparing a program for its 17th edition that will assemble upcoming and established artists to reassess the definition and meaning of photography and moving images. Held under the title Docs: Images and Records, the 15-day festival will seek to assess the current circumstances surrounding moving image art, examine alternative views on the subject and project a future trajectory. The festival is simultaneously commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Tokyo Photographic Museum, the city's primary institution for fostering visual culture.
The past thirty years have seen dramatic changes in the technologies and frameworks that define moving image culture, leading to a diversification of modalities of expression that expand the creative field for artists. The transformations that are happening in moving image media will be at the center of this year's festival, where a wide range of works will be examined to reassess the significance of documents and the concept of documentary, ranging from the invention of the movie camera by the Lumière brothers in 1895 to the modern era. This deeper investigation into the nature of moving image art will be highlighted by an exhibition of new works by the four finalists of the festival's Commission Project.
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Over the course of two weeks, viewers will have the opportunity to see the works of historical and contemporary artists from Asia and abroad, including Andy Warhol, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Masaki Fujihata, Willian Henry Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Makino Takashi, and Tony Cokes. The festival's main venue is located in the museum building, with parallel screenings, performances, live events, talk sessions and workshops being held offsite. Through its focus on archives and the recording of time, the festival will expose how the definition of a photograph and moving images has expanded to encompass novel iterations influenced by modern technologies.
Yebisu International Festival is a comprehensive international cultural event dedicated to moving images and art that is hosted in Ebisu, Tokyo. The festival is open from January 31 through February 16, 2025. More information about the venues, artists, screenings and other activities can be found on the festival site.