Month of Photography Asia 2009

This event has finished

Now in its seventh edition, the annual Month of Photography Asia festival returns with exhibitions, talks and workshops staged across five venues, inviting audiences to ponder the diverse identities, cultures and politics of Asia around the theme of ‘Engaging Asia’. Festival director Shirlene Noordin says: ‘The exhibitions demonstrate the diversity of Asia and its communities, and speak of the changes that have taken place. Photographers from East and West have often attempted to capture the many facets that make up Asia, often creating a photographic discourse on the diversity of Asia.’

World-renowned lensman Steve McCurry, best known for his unforgettable photo called the ‘Afghan Girl’, presents landmark images from his travels around Asia in ‘The Unguarded Moment’, his first solo exhibition in Singapore. His pictures transcend boundaries of language and culture, running the gamut of emotion from joy to sorrow as he captures the essence of the human experience through fortuitous encounters.

A seasoned chronicler of the East, French photographer Marc Riboud documents the changing face of China from 1957 to 2002, while compatriot Françoise Huguier depicts archetypal lifestyles on our island after her 45-day residency in Singapore. In ‘Life Before Death’, Deanna Ng tackles the issue of mortality through working with terminally ill patients. ‘Changing Asia’ exhibits photos by eight French and Chinese photographers from the collection of France’s Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, coupled with a short film by Bertrand Meunier that strings together a montage of his black-and-white images of China. Three up-and-coming Singapore-based talents provide insights into Asia in ‘Out of Focus’, and ‘Inside Out II’ brings us face to face with the hidden lives of migrant workers from the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh and China through their own eyes.

Where:

• Asian Civilisations Museum
• Institute of Contemporary Art at the Lasalle-College of the Arts
• SMU Gallery
• SG Private Banking Gallery at the Alliance Francaise de Singapour
• The Cathay Gallery

When: 18 June to 18 July