An exhibition is on display at the Tartum Museum. Tartu Art Museum is a state-owned museum of art located in Tartu, Estonia. It was founded in 1940 on a private initiative by the members of local art school Pallas. This is the largest art museum in Southern Estonia Another exhibition is in Wroclaw at the BWA Wrocław that is a cultural institution financed by the City of Wrocław. Finally, the third exhibition is at the Amori Contemporary Art Center, Paradise AIR in Matsudo, Japan.

Retreat Art Routes is a process-based residency programme for creatives representing the fields of culture, art and science, which aims to give rise to a platform connecting institutions, organisations and initiatives located in the northern hemisphere through creative routes. It owes its character to the inspiration of places that enable respite and refuge, as well as regeneration. That is why each of the residencies organised as part of it consists of two equally important parts: the first to enable respite in a place away from the world, and the second to support the development of (post)artistic and research practices in urban spaces. 

The first route within the Retreat Art Routes programme connects Poland, Estonia and Japan, where residencies are been held by three photographers: Marta Szymanowska [PL], Hana Yamamoto [JP] and Diana Tamane [EST].

Artists From Japan: Hana Yamamoto, Koji Kato & PARADISE AIR Collective and Mikiko Kikuta

Hana Yamamoto was born in 1999 in Chiba, Japan. In 2022, she received her BA in Information Design at Tama Art University. Yamamoto has already been included in various important exhibitions including 《Encounters in Parallel》 at ANB Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan). In 2023, she attended 《Retreat Art Routes》curated by BWA Wrocław Galleries of Contemporary Art (Wroclaw, Poland). She is currently working on the act of assessing the value, “Fly Ahead”(2022-2023), “Comfort Zone”(2023- ) and “Short-Sight” are known as representative works of that theme. Yamamoto currently lives and works in Tokyo/Chiba. During her time at artists’ collective Tokyo Photographic Research, Yamamoto participated as an artist on numerous projects, collaborating with a diverse range of individuals. She was awarded in the shortlist of "IMA next #3" in 2019. (Judged by Lesley A, Martin).

Koji Kato. Born in 1994. Artist. Director of Studio Dead End. PARADISE AIR coordinator. Koji received his MFA from Global Art Practice at Tokyo University of the Arts. He has exhibited his work in group shows such as “Real Imaginary Travelogue” (AI KOKO GALLERY , Tokyo), “For Whom We Fight “A Side”/”B Side” ” (Gallery G/THE POOL , Tokyo), “The Destined of the Earth” (BUoY , Tokyo), “Barrak: survibes Bangkok Biennial 2018” (White Line, Bangkok).

Marta Szymanowska: "My artistic interests focus on human beings - their emotionality, inner world, reactions to external factors, ways of dealing with the surrounding reality and traumas, as well as the process of finding our place in society. I am fascinated by the human body interpreted as both a link and a barrier between the inner and outer worlds. I work in the areas of symbolism and sensitivity. My goal is to provoke strong evocative emotions in the viewers, so that they empathise with the protagonists of my stories".

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