FCCJ Photo Archives (Main Bar)
Saturday August 7 to Friday September 3, 2010

This exhibition of photographs that were collected for the Press Club's 50th Anniversary in 1995 were found stored in a corner of the club's basement storage area. Many of these images appear in the book published on the occasion of the FCCJ's 50th Anniversary.

These images are historically important for they reflect the events that members of the FCCJ reported on during its first 50 years.

There are pictures by Carl Mydans, a Life photographer who was one of the founders of the FCCJ in 1945, and another Pulitzer Prize winning picture by AP's Max Desfor, a former Press Club president, of refugees fleeing across a river during the Korean War.

It is the hope of the Exhibition Committee that you appreciate the long, historic tradition of the members that make the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan one of the most active, professional Press Clubs in the world.

The Exhibition Committee

To All Regular & Professional/Journalist Associate Members:

FCCJ Photo Archives
Main Bar: 19:00-20:00 Monday, August 9, 2010

All welcome at this informal reception to toast the August exhibition of images from FCCJ archives, which will be showing in the Main Bar Gallery (See FCCJ Notice for more details on the show).

One drink and snacks will be served free of charge for one hour from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. To help our staff with the preparations, please call reception (3211-3161) in advance and let them know if you are planning to attend.

The Exhibitions Committee

To All Regular & Professional/Journalist Associate Members:

Tom Kuczynski

Main Bar: 19:00-20:00 Monday, July 5, 2010

All welcome at this informal reception to toast our July exhibitor, whose works will be showing in the Main Bar Gallery & Sushi Bar (See the FCCJ Notice for more details on the show).

Drinks and snack will be served free of charge for one hour from 7:00p.m. to 8:00p.m. To help our staff with preparations, please call reception (3211-3161) in advance and let them know if you are planning to attend.

The Exhibitions Committee

Illuminating Iran (Main Bar and Sushi Bar)
Saturday, July 3 to Friday, August 6, 2010

Let me take you on a short journey, a journey that suggests how the reality of a place may be quite different from the images our society and media provides.

Arriving in Iran, we are struck by the glimpses of beauty and exuberant culture we would expect from the old Persian Empire: the glory of Persepolis and ancient rulers, the magic of Zoroastrianism, superlative Islamic architecture, and centuries of influences from diverse cultures. Still, at first, our experiences remain remote and focused on the physical: scale, quantity, colors and shapes-our eyes looking for what we might expect.

Then, on encountering the people, we experience a respect for the other and hospitality to the traveler. We recognize a kind of ancestral curiosity, uniquely strong and vivid, in basically everyone we meet. We move beyond easy first impressions to learn more about the people's past, how they have adapted, about tradition, society, and the fusion - rather than the clash - of thought, religion and cultures.

Furthermore, we feel that the image of hostility towards the West, if formally projected, has no base in people's thoughts. Persians we meet, not only the young, rather like the West. The more we see, the more we realize how kind, open and ready to share they are. We see how deep, rich and complex the human tapestry of Iran is-so far from the one-dimensional concepts tailored for the convenience of evening news.

This warmth and openness shows us the true face of the people of Iran, who share the same likes and dislikes as other people everywhere. Like us, they crave a peaceful and long life - despite the challenges of this world in constant flux.

Tom Kuczynski

Tom Kuczynski was born in 1977 in Poland and has lived in Japan for over six years. In 2006 he obtained a PhD in finance at Hiroshima Shudo University and joined the Embassy of Poland in Tokyo. His photos have been published in GRAPHIA magazine and his multimedia presentations shown to audiences at movie theatres and universities in Cracow, Helsinki, London and Hiroshima. In 2007 he was awarded the Special Committee Prize to mark the tenth anniversary of the "Japan through Diplomats' Eyes" photo contest.
Author's blog: http://www.tomkuczynski.blogspot.com/

The Exhibition Committee