Kosuke Okahara (1980) is a documentary photographer based in Kyoto, Japan.
Having grown up in Tokyo, Okahara started his career as a photographer after graduating from Waseda University, Tokyo, with a degree in education.
In 2004, he began pursuing stories based on ‘Ibasyo,’ which, in Japanese, refers to the physical and emotional space in which one can exist – winning the W.Eugene Smith Fellowship in 2010 for the long-term project, ‘Ibasyo,’ about Japanese girls who self-harm.
He has received several other awards and grants including Getty Images Grants for Editorial Photography, Prix Kodak, and The Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Grant.
Okahara is represented by Polka Galerie, Paris and Only Photography, Berlin. His work has been exhibited in various venues including museums, galleries and international photo festivals, such as Kunsthal in Rotterdam, Deichtorhallen in Hamburg, Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac in Paris, C/O Berlin, Tokyo Photographic Art Museums, Paris Photo, AIPAD, and Kyotographie in Kyoto.
He has published six monographs and several art books.
In 2020, as a return to his community where he grew up, he started organizing PITCH GRANT, an annual grant for lens-based emerging artists in which artists present their works in front of audiences and audiences vote for the 2 winning projects.
World Press Photo Involvement:
2022 World Press Photo Contest winner
2020 Joop Swart Masterclass nominator
2009 Joop Swart Masterclass participant
6x6 Global Talent Program nominator
Kosuke Okahara on Social Media:
Instagram: @kosukeokahara
