Photographer Pauls Rietums will represent Latvia in an international residency project in Japan

In July 2025, the Liepāja 2027 Foundation, in cooperation with the Japanese non-profit organisation “EU – Japan Fest,” invited Latvian photographers to apply for the international residency project “European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today”. 64 photographers submitted applications, and 15 of them were shortlisted for the second round. Following the evaluation, the jury selected photographer Pauls Rietums to represent Latvia in the programme.

“We believe that Pauls Rietums offers a slightly different perspective on Kyoto. His practice operates through two axes – photography and architecture – which allows him to approach the city with a distinctive sensitivity. We believe Pauls has the conceptual clarity, sensitivity and curiosity to approach the city with a fresh gaze, and we are confident that his residency will result in a thoughtful and original body of work” says Ms. Mikiko Kikuta, artistic director of the photography project “European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today”.

Pauls Rietums is an architect and artist working between Rīga, Latvia and Lausanne, Switzerland. His creative practice spans spatial design, sculpture, and visual art, and he often approaches the surrounding environment as a shifting material, cultural, or social landscape – something that can be experienced directly, documented through images, or sometimes even imagined as a speculative form.

As previously announced, the residency project “European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today” has been bringing together European photographers since 1999 to document daily life in contemporary Japan. Its aim is to foster international cooperation, create an authentic visual record of Japan as seen through a European lens, and strengthen intercultural dialogue. The next residency cycle is planned from April 2026 to February 2027. During this period, the selected photographer will travel to one of Japan’s less-documented prefectures, Kyoto, where he will develop a conceptually unified photographic series. The works created during the residency are expected to be published in the international EU-Japan Fest photobook and presented in exhibitions in Japan and in Liepāja in 2027.

The project “European Eyes on Japan | Japan Today vol. 26” is funded by the EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee (Tokyo) and the Liepāja 2027 Foundation.

Released by

Foundation “Liepāja 2027”
Public Relations Specialist
Kristiāna Paula Lībiete
Phone: + 371 22 355 771
E-mail: kristiana.libiete@liepaja2027.lv