The 9th Yangon Photo Festival takes place in Yangon, Myanmar 3-19 March 2017, organised by the Institut Francais de Birmanie. 9th YPF 2017 – Exhibitions & Screenings : 3 – 19 March, 2017 // Yangon Photo Night Awards : March 11th , 2017. The festival is free and open to everyone.
Among the exhibitions and events are:
Burma Frontier Photographs 1918-1935 by James Henry Green, 1918-1935
James Henry Green was a British army officer and amateur photographer whose appointment took him to the most remote hill regions of Burma between the two world wars. His fascination with the peoples living in these areas and the exploration of their ethnic differences was the motivating force behind his photographic collection of more than 1600 images. It fuelled what was to become a lifelong pursuit of anthropology.
This unique documentary work is a unique visual catalogue of early 20th century Burma and its exceptional ethnic diversity. The Burma collections of James Henry Green are placed with The Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums, Brighton, UK.
In Search of Dignity, by Günter Pfannmüller and Wilhelm KleinIn 1980, Photographer Gunter Pfannmüller and writer Wilhelm Klein were the first photojournalists allowed into Burma. They produced the ‘Burma Insight Guide’, of which over a million copies were printed in 12 languages. Then, they traveled around the country with a portable photography studio of their own invention. What makes their photographs so special is the aura of a dignity that connects the extraordinary ethnic diversity of Myanmar’s peoples. This perspective on what these peoples are sharing documents a fascinating string of a common propriety, a bond that can heal all wounds and unite a nation.
Yangon Fashion 1979, by Bellay Studio
Curated by Lukas Birk, this exhibition is the first showcase of images taken in late 1970s Yangon at Bellay Photo Studio. Founded by Har Si Yone in 1969, the studio has been family run ever since and is still active today.
These beautiful images give us not only a surprising insight into the fashion of 1970s in then Rangoon but also a rare glimpse of a time when the country was experiencing the “Burmese way to socialism” and was isolated from the rest of the world.
