Presenting Women – Out of the Frame
“Women - Out of The Frame” is a photographic project undertaken by
the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka in conjunction with Sri Lankan
photographer Menika van der Poorten with the objective of presenting new
perspectives on women in Sri Lanka. This project aims to stimulate and
support Sri Lankan photographers to go beyond merely capturing an image
and delve deeper into the stories and connotations that their
photographs deliver. The exhibition seeks to present new conceptual,
critical, and multi-dimensional perspectives in the visual portrayal of
a woman and her world; images that go beyond the traditional,
objectified and stereotypical portrayal of women common in mainstream
media.
 Women – Out of the Frame will be more than a single photography
exhibition and be presented alongside a series of presentations, group
discussions which are carried out with the primary goal of supporting
the education and uplifting the skills of photographers in the country.
The project invites photographers’ across the island to submit
photographs for selection towards this project, planned to be held
between July 4 and 10 at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery. The deadline for
submission is on March 24.
The final selection of images for the exhibition will be based on the
entries that go beyond the stereotypes and depict imaginative, creative
explorations of women, women’s experiences and other aspects concerning
women.
The exhibition is also an ideal platform for talented Sri Lankan
photographers to showcase their work, be recognized for their innovative
perspectives and most importantly change the way we see women in our
country.
Printing and framing of exhibition prints will be undertaken by the
Curator and coordinator. The selected artists will feature in a full
colour exhibition catalogue; have themselves and their work featured on
a dedicated website of the exhibition; have the opportunity to
participate in workshops accompanying the exhibition. Exhibition and
website will be also be extensively publicized. The exhibition and
workshops are supported by The National Peace Council, and the Royal
Norwegian Embassy.
The project has been conceived and organized by
photographer/educator/curator, Menika van der Poorten. Menika bagan her
‘photographic life’ as a commissioning and picture editor for ‘Format
‘Women’s Photographic Agency in London and later became a working
director at ‘Monocrone’ a pioneering Photography project, in London,
promoting photography to and by Women.
Menika received her photographic education at the John Cass School
(now the London Metropolitan University), and University of Westminster,
London. Menika is now based in Sri Lanka and works in arts management
and the world of photography including photography education. She has
worked with Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts, Theertha Artists Collective,
WOMAD festival of Drums in Sri Lanka, Galle Literary Festival, Galle
Music Festival, National Art Gallery of the Maldives and on the recent
British Library/British Council exhibition on Sri Lanka, .
Menika has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally.
Her most recent works have involved a web project on The Sri Lankan
Eurasian community; she was one of the exhibiting artists at the 2012
Colombo Art Biennale. In 2009 Menika was awarded the Bunka Award for
special achievement in Photography and in October 2012 she was selected
for an Artists Residency funded by ‘Creative Scotland' at Cove Park
Trust in Scotland. Anyone wanting to participate in this project should
call 0777 800076 or email
[email protected]
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