MY STORY photo project 2011

WORKSHOPS:

Back to Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico

We returned to Chacala in November 2010 to work with the kids at Dr. Laura's community center in Las Varas. 10 kids, ages 9 and 10, kept us hopping! The cameras we had given the center in 2009 were still in working order and were put to good use. At the end of 2 weeks, the students mounted their exhibition at the center for friends and family.

In February we went to the seaside town of Chaung Da, on Burma's Bay of Bengal to work with the Karen Baptist Convention, a group that provides health, education, agricultural, and social services to over 100 communities in the Delta region. 8 guys (so much for gender balance!) learned how to document their work in 5 very full days! We had a delightful volunteer to help us with this training: Pong, a young Thai photographer from Chiang Mai, who met us in Rangoon where we took a 6 hour bus ride to Chaung Da. The bus was vintage 1960s, built for slim, short Burmese, and it was packed with families going to the beach and all their luggage. We made it without getting car sick, something that couldn’t be said for quite a few of the other passengers...

March saw us travelling by bus (14 hours) to Sangkhlaburi, a beautiful little town northwest of Bangkok and close to Burma's Three Pagoda Pass. Here we ran two photo workshops for 20 students at the Mon National Education Committee's Post-10 School. These young students ( late teens, early 20's) where at the end of a 2 year program to learn English, social studies, leadership training, and resume writing before heading back across the border to Mon state where they must teach in village schools for 2 years. This group was the most talkative bunch we've ever had! Full of ideas, enthusiasm, and most of all, hope for their futures.

EXHIBITIONS:

At the end of March, Borderline Gallery in Mae Sot hosted the MY STORY photo project's 6th annual exhibition. 48 images, including those from workshops run by teachers Der Lweh Htoo, Saw Eh Shoe, and Yawla.

Yawla was able to bring his photographers to town for the opening; to see their faces when they saw their images professionally framed and hung reminded us of why we do this.

After 6 years, MSppa was old enough to mount a retrospective exhibition at MuMu Art House in Chiang Mai. This was a major undertaking, with 52 images to be printed and framed, but worth all the effort. Sponsored by MSppa, MuMu Art House, and Best Friend Library, the opening on May 20th, was attended by 150 people, and written up in the Bangkok Post. We also sold some prints!!

Back home in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, the project mounted its 6th show at the Chapel Gallery, ARTsPLACE, in September. We also gave a slide shows and talks as part of ARTsTuesdays and to a local church group.

FUND RAISING:

The MY STORY photo project is not immune to the current global financial crunch; students are having to share cameras: two students to one camera, which they manage very well.

For those of you living in the Annapolis Royal area, we've launched an old-fashioned bottle drive: when you take your bottles to the Enviro-Depot, ask them to put your deposit money in the MY STORY photo project account.

You can also make a donation through this site, in your name or in the name of a friend. You or your friend will receive a photo card with an image from one of the MY STORY exhibitions as a small token of our appreciation.

Your donations go to the purchase of new cameras, battery chargers and batteries. Thank you!

Title: Running boy Photographer: Tet Aung Tun Mae Pa, Thailand 2011	Title: He rents inner tubes for swimming Photographer: Colonel Chaung Da, Burma 2011
Title: Hser Doh Photographer: Paw Nay Blu	My Story Flyer Photographer: Aung Latt Pyin Oo Lwin, Burma 2010
Invite 2011 Photographer: Saw Awa	Title: Selling food at Mon Festival Photographer: Jaw Sajin Sangkhlaburi, Thailand 2011
Title: Cleaning rice Photographer: Khamoom Sangkhlaburi, Thailand 2011	Title: Water jar Photographer: Dew Lweh Htoo Mae Pa, Thailand 2011
Title: Krak Photographer: Aie Lyah Chan Sangkhlaburi, Thailand 2011	Susan and Nat Photo Workshop Chaung Da, Burma, February 2011

How to donate:

or
Cheques may be made out to MSppa
and mailed to:
B.Baker
Box 538
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Canada B0S 1A0
Tax receipts will be issued for amounts over $10.