The International Center of Photography at 84 Ludlow Street opened I'm So Happy You Are Here: Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now on Thursday, October 15. The exhibition brings together 28 artists across several generations, and ICP says this is the show's first presentation in the United States. It remains on view through January 11, 2027.

The exhibition was organized by Aperture in collaboration with the Rencontres d'Arles, the photography festival in the south of France. It debuted at Arles in 2024 and has since traveled to The Hague, Frankfurt, London and Tokyo before arriving on the Lower East Side.

Who Is in the Show

The artist list runs from photographers who began working in the decades after World War II to artists active today. Among the 28 names are Ishiuchi Miyako, Kawauchi Rinko, Hiromix, Ninagawa Mika, Ushioda Tokuko, Tokiwa Toyoko, Okanoue Toshiko, Yanagi Miwa, Sawada Tomoko, Shiga Lieko, Nagashima Yurie, Ishikawa Mao, Watanabe Hitomi and Yamazawa Eiko. ICP's materials follow the Japanese convention of placing family names first, and this article does the same.

The museum frames the show as a reconsideration of the history of Japanese photography, a story that has usually been told through the work of male photographers. The selection covers everyday life, the roles women in Japan have held and reshaped over seven decades, and experimental approaches that test what a photograph can be. Alongside framed prints, the exhibition includes installation work, photobooks and other printed matter, which reflects how much Japanese photography has circulated in book form.

Among the images ICP highlights from the show are an untitled 2004 photograph by Kawauchi Rinko from her series the eyes, the ears, a 1975 to 1977 photograph by Ishikawa Mao from Akabanaa (Red Flower), made in Koza, now Okinawa City, and a 1986 work by Yamazawa Eiko from her series What I Am Doing.

The Curators

Three curators organized the exhibition: Pauline Vermare, the Phillip and Edith Leonian Curator of Photography at the Brooklyn Museum; Lesley A. Martin, executive director of Printed Matter and former creative director of Aperture; and Takeuchi Mariko, a photography critic, curator and professor at Kyoto University of the Arts.

Aperture published a companion book in 2024 that expands on the exhibition with essays, historical material and a bibliography of photobooks made by Japanese women. ICP lists the catalog at $75.

Support for the exhibition came from the Ishibashi Foundation, the Anne Levy Charitable Trust and the 1970 Japan World's Exposition Memorial Fund. The ICP presentation is backed by FUJIFILM, Monika and Deven Parekh, and the Women Moving Millions Art Catalyst Matching Fund, with additional support from The Japan Foundation and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Also Opening at ICP This Week

On Thursday, October 22, ICP opens a smaller show in its Incubator Space: Melissa Ann Pinney: What's Ms. Pinney Doing Here?, on view through January 11, 2027.

Plan a Visit

Where: International Center of Photography, 84 Ludlow Street, between Delancey and Broome Streets, New York, NY 10002.

When: Through January 11, 2027. The museum is open 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. every day except Thursday, when it stays open until 8 p.m. Last tickets are sold 30 minutes before closing.

Admission: $18 for adults; $14 for seniors 62 and older, military, and visitors with disabilities (caregivers enter free); $12 for students with ID; $3 for SNAP/EBT cardholders; free for ICP members and visitors 14 and under. On Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m., admission is $5.

Subway: The F, J, M and Z trains stop at Delancey Street/Essex Street, about two blocks from the museum.

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