Katsuya Ishida founded MEM (Multiply Encoded Messages) in Shitennoji, Osaka, in 1997. The gallery moved to Kitahama's financial district in 2002 and set the program focusing on the artists emerging in the 1980s in the Kansai area. Since then, MEM has followed contemporary art expressions across generations and regions. In addition to contemporary art programs, MEM has organized a series of exhibitions of modern Japanese photography featuring historically significant individual photographers.