ANGKOR SESSIONS

[ Pop-Up Workshops ]

Processes in Visualising Research/Stories

The Multiplicities Of Gathering And Working With Materials

This is a themed short course, lightly touching on visual anthropology. Centering on the festival’s theme of food, it begins with the making of fieldnotes as a place to listen and observe the lens which we sense in the world.

By learning to notice the evocations and negotiations of our subjectivities, personal stories and social constructs, we come to a clearer understanding of our position as researchers/storytellers. This helps inform our methods and the medium we choose to visualise a project/story.

Please note that in this workshop we will be focused on the process rather than a final outcome. The course outline below is subjected to change depending on the participants in the course.

WHO IS THIS WORKSHOP FOR?

This course is open to participants who are interested in exploring processes and interdisciplinary methods in visualizing research or stories. This is not a technical class and it is friendly to beginners who are starting out in photography and film. This course is also open to lens-based practitioners who are interested in articulating their sequencing processes and visual aesthetics.
(Photographers,Videographers, Researchers looking for ways to visualize their work, Interdisciplinary Artist, Artist Researchers etc.)

NOTES FOR PARTICIPANTS:

• This course is a non-linear way of learning which places the body and the camera as a medium that gathers information. This embodied approach also includes short lectures from the facilitator, peer reviews, partnering exercises, and making personal field trips to gather materials.
• There is a huge possibility a section of the class would be held in a public area such as a market or a restaurant.
• There will be an optional work in progress showing at the end of the course

FACILITATOR’S EXPECTATIONS:

• It is suggested that the participants engage in personal contemplation through fieldnotes during the course and be open to share parts of the notes during peer reviews..
• In all modules, we will be focusing on the processes behind gathering and condensing materials by editing materials in each day.

SUGGESTED COURSE OUTLINE

• Public Lecture (open to Public) [12 Jan]
  Evocations & Negotiations: Intersections of Art & Anthropology
  (1 – 1.5 hrs with Q&A)

This sharing session dissects the visual anthropology research project Practicing Bantengan and the various forms it has manifested. Bantengan is a bull trance ritual, culturally practiced in the East of Java, Indonesia. My introduction to Bantengan culture before fieldwork in Indonesia was at a contemporary performance festival based in Malaysia and Australia. Since 2016, I have participated in the Bantengan ritual with fellow contemporary artists in festivals at Australia and Melaka Art and Performance Festival (MAPFest), Malaysia.

For this research, I invite artists to make quick sketches after coming out of the trance ritual and make short films about their experience participating at the Bantengan Karnival 2019, Batu, Indonesia. The Bantengan Karnival is a self-initiated event where Bantengan practitioners from various villages gather yearly in Batu City. For one day in August, vehicles halt in the touristic city of Batu City, making way for Bantengan players from dawn until dusk.

Between the interstices of art and anthropology, this lecture centers on collecting and transmitting knowledge through various mediums such as sketches, artists films, exhibition making, making performances and academic writing.

• Ø MODULE X [12 Jan]
  Positioning: Fieldnotes & the lens of the researcher
  (1.5 hrs am , 1 hr pm for peer review)

In this module, we will be focused on listening. Listening affects how we observe our environment and interpret interviews. There will be partnering exercises and in this module, we will learn to listen to our own subjectivities. Through the process of observation and making notes, we come to an understanding of the lens in which we engaged with the world.

Please note:
– Participants need to bring an ingredient and a medium to record notes. Ie notebook and pen, camera, voice recorder etc
– This module is learning how to articulate what we observe NOT about interview techniques.

• Ø MODULE Y [13 Jan]
  Evocations and Negotiations: Colours and sensations
  (1.5 hrs am , 1 hr lunch (peer review)

In this module, we will focus on our various sensations, and explore it’s evocations. Here, we aim to clarify our personal interest on the theme of food. Some possible divergence includes colour and its effects on sensations, memories, food production etc.

• Ø MODULE Z [14 Jan]
  The Medium is the Message: Possible forms
  (2 hrs)

In this module, we will look at all the materials we have gathered and piece together a possible roadmap to give shape and visualise a project/story.

• Ø Feedback/Consultation (only for participants who attended entire modules)
  *for participants who opt for showing
  1 on 2 session 2 participants (20 min)

• Ø Works in Progress: Showing and sharing session [15 Jan]
  This is a showing of works in progress made by the participants from the short course. There will be a short discussion about the works at the end of the showing. More info soon. 

PRICE & SCHOLARSHIPS
USD 100 per participant for the entire course
USD 40 per module

Scholarship available for entire course. (Deadline for scholarships: 18th December)
– 1 position for 40% Partial scholarship (South East Asia and South Asia participants only)
– 1 position for full scholarship (Cambodian participant)

Application for scholarships
I understand that not everyone’s first language is English and accept purely visual works as application of interests. Possible mediums for scholarship application
– A letter of interest on why you would like to join this course. Keep it personal : )
– Short film please upload on Youtube or a video sharing website.
– Powerpoint presentation
– Paintings
– etc

Post Course Feedback from scholarship receivers
* Please note for scholarship receivers that it would be great to have some conversation /feedback at the end of the course.
I am open to multiple possibilities such as a sitting together and recording together, making a film together etc etc

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR

Lim Paik Yin (b. 1980) is a visual anthropologist and interdisciplinary artist working on research projects that intersects art and anthropology. Her experience working as a photo researcher cultivated an interest in the semiotics of images and its cultural representations. This has led to furthering her studies in Visual and Media Anthropology at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, Freie Universität, Berlin (2017-2021). Her thesis research intersects art and anthropology with a focus on collaboration and the various mediums of presenting and transmitting knowledge.. Her photography and films has been exhibited in India, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain and she has facilitated labs and workshops in festivals and artist residencies in South East Asia.

The position of the Facilitator
Practices of self-taught artists interest me as a search for aesthetics beyond our colonial inheritance’s mimicries. These inflictions continue with systematic cultural genocide beneath the veneer of progress and religion. Thus my readings of artwork are through perceptions informed by senses cultivated as a self-taught Malaysian interdisciplinary artist, and formally as a visual anthropologist who collaborates with other self-taught artists.

Links to recent works:

PRACTICING BANTENGAN research performed and published by Harun Farocki Institute, Berlin & Vargas Museum, Manila
Median – within/out (2020) as part of the lecture All the Missing Limbs of a Pre/oposition (Time Stamp 54:00 -1: 15:10) (https://vimeo.com/716709373)
Medi(t)ations on Materials (2021) published on the Rosa Mercedes 04 Journal

IN[formal] INTERchange (2018) a digital anthropology film was published in the Journal : Volume 4 No. 1, 2018: New Cultures of Tracking, Live Streaming, Sharing, Liking and Commenting. and presented at the Asian Theatre Working Group – International Federation for Theatre Research (ATWG-IFTR) 2022, University Philippines Diliman; Modes of Capture Symposium 2021 by the Irish World Academy, University of Limerick, Liz Roche Company & Dublin Dance Festival; panel of Research Day IV: Performance and Feminism, Theatre Academy, University of the Arts, Helsinki, Finland;

[ Pop-Up Workshops ]

Exhibition-Making 101

This two-session workshop will take participants through the fundamentals of presenting their works in an exhibition to create a compelling narrative. Participants will first be engaged in conversations around exhibition concept, space, layout, materials and programmes.

They will then have the opportunity to put these ideas into practice by working on and presenting an exhibition plan for their existing projects. Participants will be required to do some preparation before the start of the workshop.

Limited spaces are available, and participants will be selected by the organisers.

Who is this for?

• Open to all nationalities. No age limit.
• No prior exhibition experience required.
• Participants have to share a brief CV and the body of work which they want to use in the workshop’s practical component.

Details & Expenses

The workshop will be held in two sessions on 13th and 14th January 2023 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. (The final dates will be shared soon.)

• This is a free workshop.
• For those who are able, we do welcome contributions (to be given directly to the organisers) who are generously funding this workshop by themselves.
• Selected participants have to cover their own travel and accommodation costs in Siem Reap. Ideally, you should arrange to arrive/depart at least a day before/after the workshop.

About the Organisers

Lim Ming Rui, Manager, Objectifs
Ming Rui manages the educational programmes for schools, corporations, as well as the centre workshops at Objectifs. He also oversees other youth initiatives by Objectifs, such as the Young Photographers’ Mentorship Programme. He worked previously at the Singapore International Foundation under the programme division, where he managed arts and culture programmes that aim to contribute to positive social change. Ming Rui is an alumnus of Objectifs’ Shooting Home programme and the Angkor Photo Workshops.

Chelsea Chua, Programme Director, Objectifs
In addition to overseeing programmes and exhibitions at Objectifs, Chelsea frequently works directly with artists, photographers, curators and filmmakers across Southeast Asia to develop projects such as exhibitions, talks and mentorships. She is the curator of Stories That Matter, Objectifs’ annual documentary programme, and leads developmental platforms such as the Objectifs Documentary Awards, Curator Open Call and the centre’s residency programmes.

Established in 2003, Objectifs is a visual arts space in Singapore dedicated to film and photography. Our goal is to cultivate original voices in visual storytelling, and to inspire and broaden perspectives through the power of images. We do this by presenting a year round programme of exhibitions, screenings, workshops, talks, mentorships and residencies, aimed at fostering dialogue about visual culture, and advancing the practice and appreciation of photography and film.

Limited seats are still available!
If interested, email before 6th January 2023 to jess [@] angkor-photo.com