At NYC's ICP on the Lower East Side, 28 Japanese Women Photographers Make Their US Debut

The International Center of Photography on the Lower East Side is showing I'm So Happy You Are Here: Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now, on view through Jan. 11, 2027. The exhibition reconsiders and expands the history of Japanese photography through the work of 28 artists across generations, from the 1950s to today.

The lineup includes Ishiuchi Miyako, Kawauchi Rinko, Ishikawa Mao, Hiromix, Ninagawa Mika, Okanoue Toshiko, Sugiura Kunié, Yamazawa Eiko, Yanagi Miwa and Shiga Lieko, among others. The show spans photography, installation, photobooks and printed matter. It looks at the experiences and perspectives of women in Japan through delicate and blunt observations of everyday life, critical reflections on the roles women have inhabited and reshaped, and work that pushes the boundaries of the medium.

Pauline Vermare, Lesley A. Martin and Takeuchi Mariko curated the exhibition, which was organized with Aperture. It debuted at Rencontres d'Arles in 2024, then traveled to The Hague, Frankfurt, London and Tokyo before reaching ICP for its first US presentation. The accompanying Aperture book, published in 2024, includes essays, historical material and a bibliography of photobooks made by Japanese women. It sells in the ICP Shop for $75.

The shop also carries a companion collection: photobooks by Kawauchi Rinko, Sugiura Kunié and Ishiuchi Miyako, plus ceramics and textiles, with international shipping.

ICP's main entrance is at 84 Ludlow Street. Tickets are sold through the museum's website.