The KG＋Discovery Award is presented to one artist from the KG＋ program (excluding KG＋SELECT), the award was first launched in 2023. The award aims to discover new talent from among the diverse range of KG＋ artists with different careers, themes, and backgrounds. The winner will hold an exhibition at FUJIFILM Photo Salon Tokyo in FUJIFILM SQUARE, with support from Fujifilm Corporation for exhibition planning and expenses. Born in 1976, Aoki grew up in Tottori, Japan. In 2002 he began working as a freelance photographer. Aoki is nicknamed, “The man who loved Africa, and was loved in Africa.” He is a specialist of civil war coverage of the African continent. Aoki has photographed human despair, dignity, suffering and hope, across recent history’s defining human rights and conflict issues. He feels the need to share the necessity of telling the stories of people who are powerless.