Gallery Opening, Exhbition Closing

[Greenside]

I went to the opening of the Docucumentary Arts Asia Gallery last night and I'm thinking we witnessed the start of something exciting.

The gallery is the heart of a project to provide a perminent showcase for the work of photographers, film makers and others documenting the people of Asia and the events both past and present that shape their lives. Documentary Arts Asia is the brainchild of photographer Ryan Libre (pronounced "lee-bray", by the way), a Nikon Award winner whose pictures of the Free Kachin Army have been exhibited in Japan, the US and Thailand amongst other places. A grant from the Pulitzer Centre has enabled him to set up the DAA Gallery and start work on an annual Chiangmai Documentary Arts Festival which will kick off next month in a limited way as a prelude to a full scale event in 2013. The organisers of the festival are still scouting for suitable exhibition venues to add to their list - if you have an idea you can get in touch via the contatct details below or PM me and I'll pass it on.

The opening exhibition at the gallery is by Greg Constantine and focusses on the bleak world of stateless, part of an ongoing work called Nowhere People. As a taste of things to come, we were treated to shows of images from a number of other photographers including an intern just starting his term with the project. Particularly memorable for me was a series taken during the troubles in Bangkok showing high end designer brand storefronts pock marked with bullet holes.

One opens, one closes. If you haven't yet made it along to the Chiang Mai Photographic Group's exhibition at Northern Village, Airport Plaza (that's above where the aquarium is) you're nearly out of time. It ends its 15 day run this afternoon (Sunday 29th) at 6:00pm. It's an interesting and varied collection and, judging by the comments in the visitors' book lots of people have enjoyed it.

[Greenside]

Oops! Just to set the record straight, the grant for starting the Documentary Arts Asia project was from the W. Eugene Smith Fund - the Pulitzer Centre supported Ryan's coverage of the Kachin Army.

Edited January 30, 2012 by Greenside