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Exhibition Opening & Photographers’ Talk “Who Cares? COVID-19 Divides in Southeast Asia”
18 October, 2023 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
A unique Photographers’ Talk will be held at SEA Junction on 18 October 2023 at 5.30 – 7.00 pm presenting four photographers from Southeast Asian countries: Edy Susanto from Indonesia, Hasnoor Hussain from Malaysia, Kimberly dela Cruz from the Philippines, and Sayan Chuenudomsavad from Thailand (see brief profiles below). They will discuss their perspectives and experiences with documenting the socio-economic dimensions of COVID-19 during the pandemic, and more generally on how to bring the voices of the disadvantaged to the general public.
The panel, moderated by Rosalia Sciortino, is the opening event of the photo exhibition “Who Cares? COVID-19 Divides in Southeast Asia”— organized by SEA Junction on 17-29 October and displayed at the 3rd Floor’s Curved Wall of the Bangkok Art and Culture Center (BACC). In addition to the work of the four photographers mentioned above the exhibition will also display work by Tanwe (pseudonym) for Myanmar Grace Baey for Singapore. Together the participating photographers document how the pandemic in Southeast Asia laid bare the entrenched wealth and welfare inequities in society and their diverse implications for the well-being and safety of the various segments of the population as well as the differentiated social protection responses to the crisis. Looking ahead, structural reforms are needed if the profound divides laid bare by the pandemic are to be addressed seriously. The pandemic may have ended, but its impacts are still felt.
During the exhibition there will also be the soft launch on 15 October, 5.30-7 pm of the Thai language version of the recently published book “Who Cares? COVID-19 Social Protection Response in Southeast Asia” edited by SEA Junction’s founder Rosalia Sciortino, published by Silkworm Books and illustrated with selected exhibition photos. The launch will present a panel focused on the book’s chapter on Thailand and discuss lessons that can be drawn from the COVID-19 social protection response that are of relevance to current policy discussions on elderly welfare and e-wallets aid for the overall population. Few test-copies will be available for the participants.
The exhibition as well as the books production (both in English and Thai) and the respective launches are part of a regional research project conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021-2022, which was conducted by the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR) of Mahidol University with funding from the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) under the Integrated Strategic Research Program on Social Sciences: Khon Thai 4.0.
Photographers Talk Participants’ Profiles
Edy Susanto is a documentary photographer born in Jakarta. He completed a special training on photo journalism at Antara Journalistic Photo Gallery in 2000 and has attended a number of training and workshop in photography, including the one in which he was selected to join a photography workshop mentored by German photographer winning in a World Press Photo Contest, Peter Bialobrezky. See https://www.edy-susanto.com/.
Hasnoor Hussain picked up the camera in his early 20s and has been a photographer ever since. In March 2017, he was among the earliest staff starting a portal The Malaysia Insight and continuing reporting in visual form; still picture and video. He is currently photographer at Reuters Malaysia. See http://www.hasnoorhussain.com/.
Kimberly dela Cruz is an independent photographer based in Manila. While studying Journalism, she became an activist and started carrying a camera in protests. She began her career as a photo correspondent for the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 2013 before transitioning to documentary photography and working for different publications. See https://www.kimberlydelacruz.com/.
Sayan Chuenudomsavad has been working as a photojournalist for several years, reporting and taking photos on any rising challenges of development, of the environment, and of any social changes which take place in the Mekong region. Diverse and vibrant, his images capture everyday people living alongside the challenges of development, climate change and social changes in the region. See https://sayanchuenudomsavad.wordpress.com/.
Moderator’s Profile
Rosalia Sciortino Sumaryono is an associate professor at the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University; Visiting Professor at the Master in International Development Studies (MAIDS), Chulalongkorn University; and Director of SEA Junction (seajunction.org). She has served as IDRC Regional Director for Southeast and East Asia (2010–2014), Senior Adviser to AusAID in Indonesia (2009–2010), and Regional Director for Southeast Asia of the Rockefeller Foundation (2000–2007). Rosalia Sciortino Sumaryono also served as a program officer at the Indonesia and Philippines offices of the Ford Foundation (1993–2000). She received her doctoral degree cum laude from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and has published widely on development issues in Southeast Asia. In November 2017, she received a medal from the Vietnamese Association of Social Sciences for her contributing to social sciences in Vietnam (see further rosaliasciortino.com).
Poster’s photo © Kimberly dela Cruz
For more information, please email: info@seajunction.org or phone/wa: +66970024140
NB: SEA Junction events are free, but donation most welcome!
Organizers:
SEA Junction, established under the Thai non-profit organization Foundation for Southeast Asia Studies (ForSEA), aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions, from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 407-8 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Center or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium), SEA Junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information, see www.seajunction.org, join the Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1693058870976440/ and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @seajunction.
Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR), Mahidol University was established in 1971 and has become one of Asia’s premier population research and training hubs. The Institute conducts research and provides training in population, sexual and reproductive health and development with a focus on Thailand and on neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life for all. For more information, see https://ipsr.mahidol.ac.th.
