Kentaro Osato

“For us, disability is a part of our body and a part of our life. It is normal, it is our standard."

Meet Kentaro

Kentaro Osato is a photographer and filmmaker, producing work for clients including well-known musicians and athletes. Based in Japan, he is also the founder and head of Circus Vision, a multimedia arts collective addressing challenges to accurate, inclusive visual representation through video, photography, and design.

Kentaro was born with congenital physical disabilities in his lower limbs, feet, and hands. While working on film projects with disabled people, he began drawing on his own life experience to build a creative world where all people, regardless of ability, can participate and feel welcome. Of his commission project for the Artist Development Fund, called “Our Standard,” he says, “The importance of diversity and acceptance in society seems to be growing in Japan. [In this project] I would like to focus on people with disabilities and create new opportunities for them through our creativity. Disabilities are not something special to them—they are normal. I am convinced that expressing them creatively will lead to building a world where they can live with confidence and vigor, with smiles on their faces.”