Yesterday’s programme began with the Exhibition Opening of Indra Widi‘s Thanks For Today – hosted at our very own Festival Center, the Angkor Photo Gallery Cafe!

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A big thank you to our partners Angkor Beer and Celliers d’Asie for making the event a great success!

This is the first year we’ve had Angkor Beer on board with us, and we can only hope they’ll become long-term partners of the festival, just like Celliers d’Asie, which has been steadfastly supporting and helping us over the years.

I spoke to Scott McNeil from Celliers d’Asie to ask him a few questions:

– Celliers d’Asie has been such a great friend and supporter of the festival – can you tell me why Celliers d’Asie has such an emphasis on supporting arts and cultural events in Siem Reap? 

“Since being established in 1993, Celliers d’Asie and Cambodia has both grown over the years.  The strength has been from a community that has always supported each other and we are grateful for that!  Supporting community events and preserving forms of art and culture that was almost lost is just one way that Celliers d’Asie is able to give back to a community that we wish to see continually grow for future generations to come!”

– People who haven’t been exposed to the world of wine sometimes find it a little intimidating to enter – do you have any ‘words of wisdom’ for those just starting out? 

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to wine, opening your mind and taste as many wines as you can so that you can develop your own palate! Wine has many characteristics for everyone to enjoy because it’s a living product that changes with every harvest.  The adventure with wine is discovering & finding wines that suits you and allows you to express yourself and share with others.”

 

Last night at the FCC Angkor we had the first showcase by a duo of invited guest curators — Eddie Marsman and Marco Wiegers from the Netherlands! While Eddie could not join us in Siem Reap, Marco has been in town for quite a few days and is already a familiar face around the Festival Center! A big thank you to both Eddie and Marco for wanting to be a part of our festival!

We’ve also launched our Afternoon Sessions! These are informal events held in the afternoon, and caters specifically to the photographers who are here. There are 2 sections to it this year, and both are held at the Festival Center (Angkor Photo Gallery Cafe).

Portfolio Reviews (11am to 1pm daily) – coordinated by Andrea Star Reese, who’se also conducted reviews

To sign up, come visit the Festival Center and put your name down on the registration sheet. Our portfolio review sessions are FREE, and are conducted by a rotation of several well-known figures in photography who have very kindly volunteered their time and expertise. They include:

  • Andrea Star Reese > Andrea Star Reese is a photojournalist/documentary photographer and was a faculty member at The International Center of Photography (ICP). Her work has been exhibited internationally such as at Visa Pour L’Image, the Angkor Photo Festival and the 2009 New York Photo Festival where her work The Urban Cave received Best Social Documentary. Andrea is a 2010 fellow in Photography from the New York Foundation for the Arts. 
  • Dirk Claus > The Photoeditor Asia for Stern Magazine in Bangkok, Dirk was also the head of Stern.de photo department. He was previously the head of the Picture International Photoagency in Hamburg. 
  • Eliseo Barbara > Managing director of the new photo agency MoST, Eliseo has worked for photo agencies such Grazia Neri, Camera Press and LUZphoto and was also the photo editor at Internazionale magazine.
  • Mauro Bedoni > The photo editor of COLORS magazine, Mauro was nominated for picture editor of the year at the Lucie Awards 2011. Prior to joining Colors Magazine, he served as an art, film and music editor for RAINews24, the Italian National TV Broadcasting Service.
  • Munem Wasif > One of the festival’s invited guest curators this year, Bangladeshi photographer Munem Wasif began his career as a feature photographer in leading newspapers in Bangladesh. In 2008, he received the F25 Prize from La Fabrica and the Young Reporter Award at the Visa pour l’Image festival. Recently selected as one of 30 emerging photographers by Photo District News, he teaches at Pathshala South Asian Media Academy.
  • Pablo Bartholomew > Pablo is a self-taught, Indian photographer. In 1975, he was awarded first prize in the world Press Photo for his series on morphine addicts, and in 1984 he won the world Press Picture of the Year for his image of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. As a photojournalist, he has documented societies in conflict and transition for over 20 years. His work has been widely published and exhibited all over the world. 
  • Wang Xi > Wang Xi used to work for local NGOs in China and has curated for a wide range of festivals such as the Angkor Photo Festival, the Singapore International Photo Festival, Chobi Mela (Bangladesh), International Prange Photo Festival (Changsha), and the Ningbo A-la Photo Festival. His work on the Sichuan Earthquake and Beijing Olympics has been widely used in the international media. 
  • Marco Wiegers > One of the festival’s invited guest curators this year, Marco Wiegers is a freelance photographer and exhibitions designer based in Groningen, the Netherlands. He works for a wide range of clients, regularly participating in the design of the Noorderlicht photo festival. He teaches photography at USVA, a cultural organization affiliated with the University of Groningen. 
  • Mylene Carriere > Working for the National Center for Audiovisuals in Luxembourg, Mylene is also a photo editor and critic for the national newspaper in Luxembourg.  

Artist Sharing Sessions (3-5pm on Dec 5th and 6th) – coordinated by Ying Ang

This will be a casual and free group sharing session, open to anyone with work to show! Look out for Ying, or just enquire at the Festival Center for more details.

TONIGHT:  See you at 6pm at The 1961 for the exhibition opening of Andri Tambunan‘s Against All Odds and Gali Tibbon’s Journey to the Jeruselem of Africa. We’ll then head off to the FCC Angkor for our evening of slideshows, which will begin around 8.30pm.