32
ART
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY
BY VANIDA PHIMPHRACHANH (co-founder of Birds Follow Spring facebook.com/birdsfollowspring and co-curator of the “La Semaine de la Photographie” event in Vientiane)
T
he photographic scene in Laos has been booming over the last few years. To celebrate this new avenue of artistic self-expression, a year-long photo contest was held by the French Embassy to the Lao PDR and the Institut Français du Laos for people all over the country, with themes rotating each month, from the Mekong River to connections to life during the lockdown. Over 350 photographers participated and a winner was selected by a panel for each theme. The eight winning shots will be displayed outside the walls of the French Embassy in March. These photos will also be up for one final vote on the French Embassy’s Facebook page, and the top three photos will also be published on a photojournalism website of the Agence France-Presse. These photos are meant to provoke open and free discussion, provide an escape from the ordinary, and promote French involvement in sustainability and resilience in Laos.
