Since 2012, ICP’s annual Spotlights Benefit has celebrated the achievements of women in photography, film, and the visual arts. Through engaging conversations and thought-provoking discussions on contemporary issues, the luncheon amplifies diverse voices while raising vital support for ICP’s exhibitions, and educational initiatives.
ICP is honored to recognize Rinko Kawauchi as the 2026 ICP Spotlights Honoree, celebrating her extraordinary contributions to contemporary photography.
Join us for an intimate luncheon featuring a conversation with the artist and Lesley A. Martin.
Rinko Kawauchi is a Japanese photographer celebrated for her luminous, poetic images that capture the quiet beauty of everyday life. Working primarily in color, her photographs explore themes of nature, family, memory, and the passage of time through a delicate and contemplative visual language. Born in 1972 in Shiga, Japan, Kawauchi studied graphic design before gaining international recognition with her first photobooks, Utatane, Hanabi, and Hanako. Her work has been exhibited worldwide and has received numerous accolades, including the 2009 Art Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography and the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award from the Sony World Photography Awards.
Lesley A. Martin is executive director of Printed Matter, a not-for-profit dedicated to the distribution, understanding, and appreciation of the artists’ book. Previously, she served as creative director of Aperture and founding publisher of The PhotoBook Review (2011–2021). Her writing on photography has been published in Aperture, IMA magazine, and FOAM, among other publications, and she has edited more than 150 books of photography, including Illuminance (2011), Ametsuchi (2013), and Halo (2017) by Rinko Kawauchi; LaToya Ruby Frazier: The Notion of Family (2014); Zanele Muholi: Hail the Dark Lioness (2018); The New Black Vanguard by Antwaun Sargent (2019); Sara Cwynar: Glass Life (2021); and Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Darkroom A–Z (2023). IMartin co-founded the Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards in 2012. In 2020, she received the Royal Photographic Society award for outstanding achievement in Photographic Publishing.
For any inquiries, please reach out to [email protected].
ICP Spotlights Co-Chairs
Co-chaired by Almudena Legorreta, Pat Schoenfeld, and Stefano Tonchi
Host Committee
Deborah Brown
Charles Burdick
Kathy Chia
Barry Munger
NowHere
Lori Ordover
Monika Parekh
Marjorie Rosen
Stephanie Shuman
Leslie Simitch
Diane Tuft
Bettina Walton
Alice Sachs Zimet
Neal Zuckerman
Past Events
ICP Spotlights 2025: Graciela Iturbide
ICP Spotlights 2024: Kathy Ryan
ICP Spotlights 2022: Zanele Muholi
CP Spotlights 2021: Catherine Opie
ICP Spotlights 2020: Nadia Hallgren, Deana Lawson, Lindsay Peoples Wagner
ICP Spotlights 2018: Mickalene Thomas
ICP Spotlights 2017: Lynsey Addario
ICP Spotlights 2016 (November): Laurie Simmons
ICP Spotlights 2016 (January): Lauren Greenfield
ICP Spotlights 2015: Carrie Mae Weems
ICP Spotlights 2014: Shirin Neshat
ICP Spotlights 2013: Fashion Photography
ICP Spotlights 2012: Creating a Better World
Rinko Kawauchi, Untitled, from the series of “Utatane,” 2001
