Myanmar Photo Archive

Announcing 'Archives in Focus': A Unique Exploration of Photography and History

Archives in Focus—an international gathering dedicated to photography and visual culture, co-organized by the Myanmar Photo Archive and the Goethe-Institut Myanmar with local and international partners.

'Archives in Focus' marks the culmination of a two-year collaboration between Myanmar Photo Archive and Goethe-Institut Myanmar, focused on the diverse, community-driven, and participatory reinterpretation of the archive's visual materials. This collaborative effort concludes in a three-week international program/series of events showcasing the results of the past two years of their joint work.

This unique event will take place from November 15th to December 15th, spanning two locations: Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Yangon, Myanmar.

Archives in Focus will showcase compelling narratives from Myanmar and beyond, offering profound insights into how lives have been documented and portrayed by both professional and amateur photographers in the 19th and 20th centuries. The program will feature a diverse array of stories, from colonial-era photographs to contemporary explorations of identity, culture, and displacement. In a time marked by increasing global and local divisions regarding societal governance and structure, the event invites us to rethink and reinterpret our past and present. Through a series of exhibitions, workshops, and talks, attendees will have the opportunity to engage with artists, curators, and collectives as they offer fresh perspectives on history and personal experiences.

Stay tuned for more updates and detailed information about the program. For international visitors interested in attending, please contact the Myanmar Photo Archive directly via DM.

PRESS RELEASE

We are excited to announce the debut of Archives in Focus in Chiang Mai, featuring two unique initiatives. The first, a retrospective exhibition titled Contact Prints, will be held at Some Space Gallery from November 15th to 27th. This exhibition highlights the Myanmar Photo Archive’s extensive activities and offers the Thai audience an opportunity to delve deeper into Myanmar’s rich photographic heritage.

Join us for the exhibition opening on Friday, November 15th, 2024, from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM, at Some Space Gallery, Chiang Mai.

Exhibition Details:

• Exhibition Title: CONTACT PRINTS: An Exploration of Myanmar’s Photographic History
• Venue: SOME SPACE Gallery, 124/4-5 Sri Poom Rd, Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Opening Reception: Friday, 15th November 2024, 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Exhibition Dates: 15th - 27th November 2024

As part of Archives in Focus, the second initiative will take place at Greenhouse Community Space on Saturday, November 16th, 2024. This incubator will provide a collaborative platform for local Myanmar artists, fostering creative exchange and the generation of new ideas. The event aims to build connections, nurture artistic collaboration, and establish new bonds and relations between artists and the community.

We invite you to join us for this enriching afternoon of creativity and dialogue.

Event Details:

• Event Title: THINK AFTERNOON: An Incubator for Presenting Myanmar’s Visual History
• Venue: Greenhouse Community Space, 10 Siri Mangkalajarn Rd, Tambon Su Thep, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Date: Saturday, 16th November 2024
• Time: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM

The Goethe-Institut Myanmar is excited to transform its Yangon space into an interactive bookshelf from November 29th to December 15th, 2024, as part of the Archives in Focus initiative. Titled Page by Page, this exhibition will celebrate the photo-book as a powerful medium of storytelling. The exhibit will feature captivating narratives from the Myanmar Photo Archive, along with works by local photographers and artists who use the photo-book format to explore both personal and historical reflections.

In addition to the exhibition, Page by Page will also offer engaging events, including a workshop on photography restoration and two special movie nights showcasing restored films. All activities will be hosted at the Goethe-Institut Myanmar Auditorium.

Exhibition & Event Details:

• Exhibition Title: PAGE BY PAGE: An Interactive Photo-Book Exhibit
• Venue: Goethe-Institut Myanmar / Archives in Focus HQ, Next Corner, Kabar Aye Pagoda Road, Nat Mauk St, Yangon
• Opening Reception: Friday, 29th November 2024, 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM
• Exhibition Dates: 29th November – 15th December 2024

Mingalaba - in Singapore

The Myanmar Photo Archive will participate in the 9th Singapore International Photo Festival from 18th October to 24th November. The Archive will take over The Peninsular Shopping Center, a well-known meeting point for Singapore’s Myanmar community. The shopping mall also hosts two Burmese restaurants. In collaboration with various store owners, this multi-narrative exhibition will be open to the public, engaging with the unique themes of each shop—from a musical instrument supplier to Mandalay BBQ and a photo studio offering analogue photographic services.

During the festival, the newspaper RETHINK, originally produced for the exhibition at the Goethe-Institut in January, will be reprinted and distributed free of charge in both English and Burmese to visitors.

On September 1st, from 1 PM to 3 PM, a Hand Colouring Book launch event was held at Yangon Book Plaza, where visitors also had the chance to participate in a hands-on coloring activity. There was a great number of enthusiastic buyers. During the event, the creation of the Hand Colouring Book was introduced, along with its compact and adorable design. Inside the book, visitors could find intricately hand-colored photographs, and various methods and mediums for adding color onto the photos were explained. Around 20 participants took part in the workshop, where they coloured black-and-white photos. Goethe-Institut Myanmar and the Myanmar Photo Archive team expressed their gratitude to all the book buyers and workshop participants.

We are pleased to announce the release of the Hand Colouring Book of the Myanmar Photo Archive, now available at Yangon Book Plaza. To celebrate this launch, we are offering an exclusive Hand Colouring Workshop, presented in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Myanmar, Myanmar Photo Archive, and Yangon Book Plaza. Simply purchase your copy of the book to secure your spot in the workshop. This event is a wonderful opportunity to dive into the art of hand coloring and connect with others who share your passion for this creative practice. Join us onSeptember 1st, 2024, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Yangon Book Plaza. Stay tuned to our social media for further updates.

Date: 1st September 2024
Time: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Venue: Yangon Book Plaza

Join our free digitization weekend program and unlock the power of preserving history digitally.
 
The Myanmar Photo Archive and Goethe-Institut Myanmar are excited to announce a special opportunity for 20 individuals to participate in a free comprehensive two-day online digitization training program. During this workshop, you will learn about historic photographs and materials with guidance from the Myanmar Photo Archive team. Throughout the workshop, you will gain invaluable insights into preserving physical prints, negatives, and various archive materials, mastering the art of scanning and digitizing them with ease. Whether you are using a smartphone or a computer, you will learn essential techniques for enhancing and preserving these precious images. 

The Myanmar Photo Archive's Rethink Art Exhibition at the Goethe-Institut Myanmar Auditorium, which ran successfully from January 15th to 30th, marked a significant milestone for us. This exhibition showcased various artworks created through an Open Call, inviting artists to reinterpret the photographic materials from the archive.
 
The showcased pieces included paintings, collage series, photo series, short films, and written works presented in a unique newspaper format. To enhance the experience, special talk events were held every Saturday, where Authors Min Chit Paing and Nyan Yel Yint Win, who took part in the Open Call, made a reading section of their works. Special guests like Save Myanmar Film and Frederick Lee (Taiki) shared valuable knowledge on preserving old Myanmar films and film photography.
 
A Digitization station was set up throughout the two weeks, offering free digitization services for old photos and photographic materials. The response was heartening, with approximately 40 daily visitors to the Myanmar Photo Archive's Rethink exhibition. The special talk show drew over 100 attendees, and nearly 300 people celebrated the exhibition at the opening ceremony.
 
We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who attended and supported the exhibition. Your presence and enthusiasm made this event a truly memorable and successful endeavour.

Exciting news from the Myanmar Photo Archive and Goethe Institute! We're thrilled to announce our upcoming Incubator program for visual artists, gallery owners, curators, and representatives from various art organizations in Myanmar.

This program is the first series across different parts of Myanmar. Our primary objective within this incubator program is to collectively brainstorm and explore the potential for exhibitions, publications, online platforms, and social media presentations of artworks so that they are beneficial for the artists and also feasible for the people.

The concept for this incubator program was conceived following a successful grant program we orchestrated, granting an opportunity to 45 writers and visual artists to reimagine Myanmar's visual history.

Stay tuned for further updates and insights.

Last Saturday night, MPA made a comeback after three years, thanks to the amazing support from Goethe-Institut Myanmar. At "Meet the Myanmar Photo Archive," we delved into our past, present, and future activities, showcasing incredible artworks from our Open Call program. 

With around 90 attendees, the event was buzzing with discussion around MPA’s archival materials and previously produced books. Thanks to everyone who joined us; your support means the world to the Myanmar Photo Archive!

The Goethe-Institut Myanmar and the Myanmar Photo Archive invite you to participate in our commissioned program 2023. We are giving out 45 grants for creatives to reinterpret the images of the Myanmar Photo Archive. The archive holds the largest image source of independent Myanmar, with vernacular photography from around the country. The open call starts on 30th May 2023 to 30th June 2023. For additional information, please click the link. 

Grant Awardee Announcement