5th Anniversary of Ruinart Japan Award: 2025 Winner Sari Shibata to Hold Solo Exhibition at "KYOTOGRAPHIE 2026" from April 18 (Sat) to May 17 (Sun) at ASPHODEL (Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto City)

Champagne Maison Ruinart, handled by MHD Moët Hennessy Diageo K.K. (Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo), will host a solo exhibition by photographer Sari Shibata at "KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festival 2026," held from Saturday, April 18 to Sunday, May 17, 2026. The venue will be ASPHODEL, a gallery in Gion, Kyoto. As part of its sponsorship program for "KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festival," held annually in Kyoto each spring, Ruinart established the "Ruinart Japan Award" in 2021, aiming to discover and support young Japanese artists and creators. Winners of this award are invited to the Ruinart Maison in Reims, France, where they undertake creative work through an "Artist-in-Residence Program," and their achievements have been presented at subsequent "KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festivals."

Sari Shibata, the 2025 winner of the "Ruinart Japan Award," which celebrates its 5th anniversary this year, is a next-generation photographer who has continued to create works inspired by changing environments and the impact of human activities. After growing up in the mountainous region of Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture, Shibata spent much of her time in urban areas, where she encountered the structures of global capitalism in the business world. This experience, she says, made her aware of the gap between her upbringing in a rural area and urban life, profoundly influencing her later artistic themes. The feeling of "moving away from nature" that she experienced during her urban life became the impetus for her to re-examine "humans" and "nature" and to make them the subjects of her creative work.

Shibata reflects, "After the Ruinart residency program, I was completely exhausted from work and daily life, but in Reims, I was able to return to nature and remembered how deeply moving that feeling is. During my time in residence, I was reminded once again of how uncontrollable nature's power is."

A Story of Women Growing and Maturing Like Grapes

At her solo exhibition during "KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festival 2026," Shibata will present new works depicting a story of women growing and maturing like grapes. These works draw inspiration from the changing seasons felt in the fields and forests surrounding the Maison, human activities rooted in the land, and the traditions and views of nature passed down in her hometown. The exhibition is structured to convey Shibata's fresh perspective on "humans" and "nature."

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