Japan | A Journey Through Japan’s Contemporary Art Landscape in Kyoto, Karuizawa, and the Art Islands

@ We are pleased to partner with Nobechi Creative for a special trip to Japan. In partnership with the Nobechi Creative, this new journey will explore Japan through contemporary art, photography, and architecture. Traveling with photographer and educator Aline Smithson, participants will visit Kyotographie, the Karuizawa Foto Fest, and the art centers of Takamatsu, Naoshima, and Teshima. PLEASE STATE YOUR INTEREST VIA THIS FORM © Aline Smithson The Destinations This contemporary art journey begins in Tokyo and continues through Kyoto, Karuizawa, Takamatsu, and Naoshima before returning to Tokyo for a final night. Along the way, participants will experience some of Japan’s most important museums, art festivals, architectural sites, gardens, and artist-led spaces, with time built in for independent exploration. Day-by-Day Itinerary The itinerary will remain flexible so the group can respond to local schedules, changing conditions, and the strongest photographic opportunities available. Tokyo: May 8 (1 night). Please arrive by May 7 in order to partake in all activities. The journey begins in Tokyo with introductions and visits connected to the city’s contemporary art scene. Accommodations will be at an art-focused hotel located in the heart of the city. Participants are welcome to come to Tokyo early and explore the city on their own, or with an artist guide. Kyoto: May 9–12 (4 nights) Led by local guides in the ancient capital city of Kyoto, the group will explore photographic exhibitions while interweaving traditional cultural sites and the city’s historic neighborhoods, with one free day for independent discovery. Karuizawa: May 13–16 (4 nights) The program continues in the highland resort of Karuizawa for exhibitions, gallery and museum visits, artist talks, dinner with internationally renowned artists, and private events for tour participants. These will be balanced with time to enjoy the surrounding areas of forests, waterfalls, and architecture. Takamatsu (Art Islands): May 17-19 (3 nights) We fly to Takamatsu, on the island of Shikoku in the Seto Inland Sea. Takamatsu is the gateway to the “art islands” but also boasts the beautiful Ritsurin Garden, the Isamu Noguchi Sculpture Garden, and a number of Ohenro pilgrimage temples. It is also close to Awagami Factory – a destination for this tour, where we will have a private, guided visit – and the port to island hop to the various public art installations found on smaller islands in the Inland Sea. Naoshima: May 20 (1 night) The final portion of the journey takes us to Naoshima, where we have booked out the entire Museum block of hotel rooms at famed Benesse House for a once-in-a-lifetime “night at the museum” experience. Return to Tokyo: May 21 After maximizing our time on Naoshima, we will fly back to Tokyo in time for a final, farewell dinner. Group Size Maximum of 12 participants. Price: Per person, double occupancy: $11,150 + $335 credit card handling fee Single supplement: + $1,950 Payment schedule: $2,500 deposit upon registration, half of balance due December 15, 2026, balance due February 15, 2026 Cancellation Policy – If a participant cancels 120 days or more prior to departure, a refund less an administrative fee of 50% of the deposit will be made. Alternatively, the deposit can be transferred to another trip within 15 months of this journey. • For cancellations made 119 to 90 days prior to departure, 100% of the deposit amount will be retained. • For cancellations made 89 to 50 days prior to departure, 50% of the total Expedition cost will be retained. • For cancellations made 49 days or fewer prior to departure, 100% of the total Expedition cost will be retained. About Aline Smithson © Aline Smithson Aline Smithson is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, editor, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California. Her practice examines the archetypal foundations of the creative impulse, and she uses humor and pathos to explore the performative potential of photography. She received a BA in Art from the University of California at Santa Barbara and was accepted into the College of Creative Studies, studying under artists such as William Wegman, Allen Rupersburg, and Charles Garabedian. After a career as a New York Fashion Editor, working alongside some of the greats of fashion photography, Smithson returned to Los Angeles and her own artistic practice. She has exhibited widely, including over 40 solo shows at institutions such as the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, the Shanghai, Lishui, and Pingyqo Festivals in China, The Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco, the Center of Fine Art Photography in Colorado, the Tagomago Gallery in Barcelona and Paris, and the Arnika Dawkins Gallery in Atlanta. In addition, her work is held in a number of public collections, and her photographs have been featured in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, PDN (cover), the PDN Photo Annual, Communication Arts Photo Annual, Harper’s, Eyemazing, Medium Format Visura, Shots, Pozytyw, and Silvershotz magazines. Smithson is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Lenscratch, a daily journal on photography. She has been an educator at the Los Angeles Center of Photography since 2001. Her teaching spans the globe. In 2012, Smithson received the Rising Star Award through the Griffin Museum of Photography for her contributions to the photographic community and also received the prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award from CENTER. In 2022, the Lucie Foundation nominated her for Photo Educator of the Year. In 2014 and 2019, Smithson’s work was selected for the Critical Mass Top 50. In 2015, the Magenta Foundation published her first significant monograph, Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography. In 2016, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum commissioned Smithson for a series of portraits for the Faces of Our Planet Exhibition. In 2018 and 2019, her work was selected as a finalist in the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize and exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London. In 2019, Kris Graves Projects commissioned her to create the book LOST II: Los Angeles, which is now sold out. Peanut Press Publishing released her monograph, Fugue State, in the fall of 2021, also sold out. Her books are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Museum, the Los Angeles Contemporary Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim, among others. In 2022, Smithson was honored as a Hassleblad Heroine. With the exception of her cell phone, she only shoots film. About our partners – Nobechi Creative About George Nobechi George Nobechi is a Japanese/Canadian photographer born in Tokyo, Japan, who graduated from the University of British Columbia with an Honours B.A. in History with International Relations. He is the Creative Director for Nobechi Creative since 2017 and for the Karuizawa Foto Fest (kff). He is best known for his quiet depictions of landscapes and the people who live in them, as seen from his perspective of being simultaneously an insider and outsider in Japan and in the West. His work has been exhibited in solo shows in Italy, Germany, New York, Johnson City, Lincoln, Hastings, Detroit, Buenos Aires and Tokyo. His work is represented by Patricia Conde Galeria (Mexico City) and Momentum Fine Art (Miami) and is in the collections of the Center for Creative Photography and the Canadian Embassy to Japan. He is a regular contributor to the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper. Prior to photography, he had a career in finance in Tokyo and New York. About Fernanda De Icaza Fernanda De Icaza obtained her degree in Photography from Escuela Activa de Fotografía in 2013. Born and raised in Mexico City, she grew up feeling overwhelmed by her surroundings and found in photographic praxis a way to process reality. Introspection and exploration of the human mind are the main components of her work. In 2015 she traveled to Japan and became a student in a small Buddhist temple. Zen practice served as research to help start her project “月心 (Gesshin)”. During her time in Japan she met George Nobechi during a workshop with Magnum photographer Newsha Tavakolian. Dates May 8 – May 22 Tokyo, Kyoto, Karuizawa, Takamatsu, and Naoshima Artist Guide Aline Smithson Local transportation Included Selected Hosted Dinners by the Griffin Museum Visits to artists studios, museums and private tours Plane tickets and accommodations not included © George Nobechi, Awagami Factory © George Nobechi, Karuizawa, Japan © George Nobechi, Teshima, Japan © George Nobechi, Yayoi Kusama, Naoshima, Japan © George Nobechi, Kyoto Gion © George Nobechi, Karuizawa © George Nobechi, Ryokan, Kyoto, Japan © George Nobechi, Ritsurin The Griffin Museum of Photography Add to calendar Google Calendar iCalendar Outlook 365 Outlook Live