Ooika Launches Artist-in-residency program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Ooika Launches oAir, an Artist-in-Residence Program, bridging the Rigor of Japanese Matcha Craft to American Photography.
Ooika’s oAir is a month-long Princeton residency awards a $3,000 stipend, a private studio, and a public exhibition, with finalists selected by a committee spanning Pierre Hermé Paris Japon and the collections of MoMA and The Met.
Launch of the oAir program.
PRINCETON, N.J. — July 13, 2026 — Ooika (覆い香), the largest matcha refinery in the United States and the first company in the world to sell exclusively single-origin matcha with full sourcing transparency, today announced the launch of oAir, its inaugural Artist-in-Residence Program. Applications are open now through August 31, 2026, for a residency running September 28 to October 26, 2026 in Princeton, New Jersey.
Built around Ooika's mission of supporting Japan's rarest heritage matcha, oAir aims to support artists working in photography and image-based media. The program is open to all artists in those disciplines, and culminates in a public exhibition and artist talk in Princeton.
“Ooika is deeply committed to the preservation of Japanese heritage tea farmers. This is partly achieved through the use of photography, and the accessibility the media has to connect the lives, families, and stories of others. The aim of the oAir program is to bridge the gap between the craft of Matcha, and the craft and art of Photography,” said Marc Falzon, Ooika’s founder and co-owner.
The selected resident receives:
$3,000 stipend for the month-long program
A private artist studio and a fully furnished private room
Access to a professional Epson SureColor P9000 printer
Discounts across Ooika's cafés and complimentary lunches at Honzu
Three one-on-one guidance sessions with the selection committee, at the start, midpoint, and close of the residency
The resident's work will be exhibited in Princeton, New Jersey on October 24 and 25, 2026, with a public artist talk on October 24. Beyond the exhibition, the resident's work will be featured on Ooika's website and social channels, incorporated into Ooika limit-edition product packaging, and published in the inaugural annual oAir zine.
A Committee Spanning Confectionery, Fine Art, and Publishing
Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee whose members bridge the culinary arts, contemporary photography, and independent publishing:
Richard Ledu, Chairman of Pierre Hermé Paris Japon, who has built the Maison into a national institution in Japan and pioneered the intersection of cuisine and contemporary art through projects and collaborations spanning KYOTOGRAPHIE, Kenya Hara, and Makoto Azuma.
Marshall Scheuttle (b. 1984), an American photographer and 2020 NAC Fellow whose work is held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, and whose editorial credits include The New York Times, National Geographic, and The Guardian.
Kris Graves (b. 1982), a New York– and California–based artist and founder of KGP MONOLITH, a Black-owned publishing house committed to making fine-art editions accessible to a new generation of collectors.
Selection is based on the strength and rigor of an artist's work, their potential for growth during the residency. Applicants will be notified on September 4, 2026.
Why Princeton
Dense with history, walkable, and within easy reach of New York City, Princeton offers residents a setting suited to serious, sustained work. Ooika's photo-book library and its relationships with local art associations give the resident structured entry points into the wider Princeton arts community.
How to Apply
Artists working in photography or image-based media may apply online through August 31, 2026, at 9:00 PM EST. Physical submissions are accepted by mail (submissions will not be returned):
oAir C/O Ooika
300 Witherspoon Street, Unit 102B
Princeton, NJ 08542
Full details and the application form are available at https://ooika.co/oair.
About Ooika
Ooika mills Japan's rarest single-origin matcha in the United States using authentic Ishi-Usu (石臼) stone mills, allowing Matcha lovers to experiences matcha as it was intended for the first time: fresh.
The company was the first in the world to focus exclusively on single-origin matcha with complete sourcing transparency, proviving all details down to the farmer's name, terroir, cultivar, shading and harvest method, shading duration, and mill date; a standard it still stands alone in maintaining.
Ooika works directly with Japan's most celebrated and historically significant Tencha producers. This includes multiple National Tea Competition first-place winners and rare Honzu (rice-straw) shaded farms.
As the largest matcha refinery in the U.S., Ooika mills imported Tencha entirely in-house, easing the strain on Japan's limited stone mills so more matcha remains available for cultural and ceremonial use, while returning capital to the farmers who grow it. Ooika operates cafés in Princeton and Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where matcha is stone-milled fresh in-house daily. Learn more at https://ooika.co.
## Media Contact
Ooika
Ooika launches Artist-in-Residency program with influential selection committee.