HEAD ART Photo Contest AKASHI 2023

Contest theme

“Catch”

themed photographic works previously unreleased inside and outside Japan.

Submission requirements

  • The works are to be made and photographed up above the chest of a model or makeup doll.
  • Free to use skin tone editor; add illustrations and decorations on PC.
  • Recommended screen resolution: 300ppi (Maximum file size: 6MB).

Entry

  • Application period: Saturday, July 1, 2023 - Tuesday, September 5, 2023 17:00(JST)
  • Apply from the Entry Form.

Entry fee

  • 1,000 yen(Please make the payment by PayPal)

Work submission

  • Submit online by attaching your work to the designated application form.
  • The image resolution of your work is recommended to be 300ppi with the file size below 6MB.
  • Application deadline: must arrive by Friday, September 8, 2023

Awards

  • Grand prize (given to 1 person) winner will receive 100,000 yen in prize money, a certificate of commendation, Specialty of Akashi City offered by Akashi-ura Cooperative Association of Fisheries, assorted baked sweets offered by long-established confectionery shop, KURUMIYA. The work will be displayed in the award exhibition, posted on the organizer’s official website, and used as a main image of the contest next year.
  • Second prize (given to 1 person) winner will receive 30,000 yen in prize money and a certificate of commendation. The work will be displayed in the award exhibition and posted on the organizer’s official website.
  • Third prize (given to 1 person) winner will receive a 3,000-yen gift voucher and a certificate of commendation. The work will be displayed in the award exhibition and posted on the organizer’s official website.
  • Student Award winner will receive 10,000 yen in prize money and a certificate of commendation.
    The work will be displayed in the award exhibition, posted on the organizer’s official website.
  • Special Award (given to a few people)/ Special Jury Award winner(s) will receive a 1,000-yen gift voucher and a certificate of commendation. The works will be displayed in the award exhibition, posted on the organizer’s official website.
  • Selected works (given to about 30 people) The works will be displayed in the award exhibition; name of the winners will be posted on the organizer’s official website.
  • Audience Award (given to 1 person) All the works will be uploaded to the organizer’s Instagram, and the winner will be chosen based on the highest number of likes a work receives. The winning work will be posted on the organizer’s official website.

Award announcement

  • The winner announcement will be made on our website on Early November, 2023. (The award-winning works and the name of the creators (up to 3 persons) will be posted on the organizer’s official website.) Submitting plagiarized work is strictly prohibited. The organizer is not responsible for any disputes regarding copyright infringement. If a submitted work is found to have been plagiarized, the work will be disqualified from the awards.

Exhibition of award-winning works

  • Award-winning works are scheduled to be exhibited at “Gallery Street” on the 1st floor of ASPIA Akashi between Saturday, November 11, 2023 and Thursday, November 30, 2023.

Special Judge

AKIHITO

Dark Fantasy & Character Concept Artist,

Born in the Fukuoka prefecture of Japan, and now living in Los Angeles, CA. Akihito won the TV Champion's Special Effects Make-Up King Competition three years consecutively starting in 1988. In that same year, he also won the Avant-Gard Make-up competition at the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show.In the following years, Akihito shined as the main Kaiju Designer for Ultraman Cosmos. In the following years, Akihito shined as the main Kaiju Designer for Ultraman Cosmos. After making the decision to move to America in 2002 to pursue a Hollywood career, he has found success as one of the key Special Effects Make-up Artist on many movies, including PACIFIC RIM, LOST WORLD, PREDATORS, NARNIA 1, 2, and 3, TERMINATOR SALVATION, TERMINATOR GENESIS, IRONMAN 2, SHUTTER ISLAND, and ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

PUBLISHED
2014 “Heart of Art” Akihito's first art book Released worldwide (15 countries including Japan). “Heart of Art”

AWARD
2018 -Dimensional “Statue of Peace” Selected work in SPECTRUM 25
2017 -Dimensional “Nephila” Silver Award Selected work in SPECTRUM 24
2016 -Dimensional “Death Wings” Selected work in SPECTRUM 23 The best contemporary Fantastic Art
2011 -Dimensional “Wind Messenger” Silver Award Selected work in SPECTRUM 18 The best contemporary Fantastic Art
2009 -Dimensional “Elegant Medusa” Gold Award Selected work in SPECTRUM 16 The best contemporary Fantastic Art
2008 -Dimensional “Heart of Art” Silver Award Selected work in SPECTRUM 15 The best contemporary Fantastic Art
2001 -Main designer of Ultraman Cosmos (Japan's famous super hero character loved by all the children in Japan as Superman is in the US) TV series (65 stories) in 2001
-Produced an original special make-up effects fashion show in the 200 Independent Movie Festival in Tokyo.
2000 -Won three consecutive victories for the Special Effects Make-up Artists Championship in Japan.
1999 -Won the first prize for the Avant-Garde category in the annual competition event at the 1999 International Make-up Artist Trade Show, California USA.

Kageki Shimoda

Novelist, an organizer of a storytelling workshop “Yoiko-ni-yomikikasetai” Born in Shizuoka Prefecture. Awarded the Naoki Prize for his novel, “Yellow Fang” in 1980.
After receiving the Prize, he appeared in numerous TV shows including “Waratte iitomo”. He has published over 500 books, and has been releasing e-books lately. Driven by a strong necessity of storytelling, he founded “Yoiko-ni-yomikikasetai” in 1990 where he serves as a captain, and has held over 1900 storytelling workshops across Japan with his storytelling members. He also passionately devotes himself in creating picture books and children’s books. He won the 19th Japan Picture Book Awards Readers’ Prize in 2014 for “The Day a Giraffe Comes”. He has gained popularity with the younger generation as he has more than 410,000 followers on Twitter.

Isao TSUGE

Character Visual Director

Born in 1960. He engaged in numerous film works as a beauty director including “Okuribito” directed by Takida Yojiro. He set up a new genre called “character design” where he totally designs a character of a film with costumes, hair makeup and hand props.

Major works
NHK historical drama series “Ryoma-den”, “Taira-no-Kiyomori”, NHK drama fantasy series “Seirei-no-moribito (all 3 series)”, “Stranger – Akutagawa Ryunosuke in Shanghai”, “Thus spoke Kishibe Rohan”, “Drawing Restraint 9” (directed by Matthew Barney),” 13 Assassins” (directed by Takashi Miike), “Shin Godzilla”(directed by Hideaki Anno and Shingi Higuchi), “Fly Me to the Saitama”(directed by Hideki Takeuchi). His upcoming works include “Shin Kamen Rider” (directed by Hideaki Anno) and NHK historical drama series for 2023 “Dosuru Ieyasu” and more.

Major theatrical works
“Roppongi Kabuki Part II Zatoichi” (directed by Takashi Miike), “Red Demon”, “MIWA”, and “Q:A Night At The Kabuki” (directed by Hideki Noda), “Akaikurayami”, “Ohsho”,”Hitachiboh Kaison” (directed by Keishi Nagatsuka), “PLUTO” (directed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui), etc.

Awards received
Grand prize for the first Japan Hairdresser of the Year (Japan Hairdressing Awards in 1990), Session Stylist of the Year for the second Japan Hairdresser of the Year (Japan Hairdressing Awards in 1991), Kujiraoka Amiko Award for the 30th Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix in 2012 (awarded for creating the new genre of character design), Best Costume Design for the 9th Asian Film Awards in 2015 (“Over Your Dead Body”).

Entry Form

Copyright ownership and handling of the award-winning works.

Copyright of the works submitted to HEAD ART Photo Contest Akashi belongs to the applicant.
However, the contest organizer shall use the award-winning works in media such as leaflets, posters, websites, DM, social networking services, etc. to the extent necessary for the purposes of advertising and promoting the contest.
Only the prize-winning works shall be used in the articles and advertisements with the personally identifiable information of the creator. We will not use them in any media that deviates from the aim of the contest.