An Open-Air Photography Competition within the Heartwork of Tokyo / Pen ペン

From October 4 to 26, 2025, the districts of Yaesu, Nihonbashi, Kyōbashi, and Ginza will host the T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL TOKYO 2025. For its seventh version, this city images competition will take over streets and constructing facades throughout Tokyo, turning the acquainted panorama of town’s enterprise quarters into an expansive open-air gallery.

Launched in 2017, the competition returns this 12 months underneath a compelling theme: the ‘garden.’ The competition director, Ihiro Hayami, explains that he drew inspiration from the idea of the ‘moving garden’ developed by French gardener and thinker Gilles Clément. ‘The idea envisions the garden as a living organism, constantly evolving, shaped by natural forces rather than fixed by human hands. We wanted to transpose this vision to a metropolis like Tokyo, itself defined by flows and change.’

This theme additionally invitations reflection on the competition’s very objective: a images competition on the coronary heart of town. ‘Kyōbashi was once home to numerous photo development laboratories, a place historically linked to photography. Today, modern office buildings dominate the area, yet the city remains built upon the traces of those who lived and worked here. By exhibiting works in this environment, we hope to spark unexpected encounters, exchanges, and dialogues between passersby and the images.’

This openness to everyone seems to be central to the challenge. Regular commuters in addition to informal passersby are invited to come across artwork alongside the streets. ‘In a world where social media filters what we see according to our interests, stepping outside those boundaries can become a valuable experience. Whether one feels drawn to or repelled by the works, the important thing is to acknowledge these emotions and let them resonate.’

Among the competition’s highlights, a number of main exhibitions will happen, notably at Tokyo Midtown Yaesu. Visitors will encounter main figures of up to date worldwide images, together with Stephen Shore. The competition can even current a collective exhibition that includes younger photographers from Japan, China, and France, curated by a commissioner from the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, alongside a collection of works by rising Japanese artists.

The program additionally consists of quite a few panels, with curators from the images departments of main worldwide museums in attendance. A images truthful, the place chosen works may be bought, completes the providing.

‘Japanese photography enjoys global recognition,’ notes Ihiro Hayami. ‘Every year, many international professionals collaborate with us. After the United States, Japan is the country with the second-highest number of recipients of the Hasselblad International Photography Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of photography. Photography is a treasured part of Japan’s cultural heritage, and from Tokyo, we goal to share it with the world.’

For Hayami, the attraction of images lies in its common attain. ‘It is no longer confined to art alone. Photography now permeates daily life to the point of constituting a true visual infrastructure.’

His recommendation for absolutely having fun with the competition: take a stroll via town with a digital camera in hand. Inspired by the works on show, guests could discover themselves seeing each town—and their very own perspective—anew.

T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL TOKYO 2025

Launched in Ueno in 2017, the T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL moved in 2020 to the districts east of Tokyo Station. Its identify references the three ‘T’s recognized by sociologist Richard Florida as important to city vitality: ‘Technology’, ‘Talent’, and ‘Tolerance’.