The World Press Photos 2022 and Straits Times Behind the Lens exhibition is one focused on photography and photo journalism for the past year. The photo exhibition showcases notable and memorable moments on print. Let’s check out this year’s installment.
Furthermore, the exhibition for this year comprises of two main photo exhibitions held within the grounds of the National Museum of Singapore. They are located on two locations. One at the museum long concourse at Level 1 by the entrance to the national museum history gallery, and the Glass Atrium at Level 2. Also, this level 2 area is the entrance to the Story of Forest gallery we visited previously.
Local Singaporean photojournalism
Through the Lens Photo Exhibitions organised by the Singapore Straits Times. If you read the local papers, you won’t be a stranger to any of these photos. The exhibition covers press items based on notable events throughout the year. This includes independent photo journals as art of on-going photo journalism initiatives.
Notably, last year, the Straits times also covered a similar photo perspective of notable Singapore events. Also, examples include Singapore’s journey towards recovery as the pandemic as well as other large events like Singapore premiere league, and LGBT event, Pink dot.
Moreover, on top of the exhibitions, the event has talks conducted by Straits Times photojournalists themselves on stage. This is as is in the previous years of the exhibition too.
Also, the photo exhibition is delivered to you via free standing photo stands and guides visitors along via segments. Previously the Straits Times exhibition rides on the World Press Photo exhibition as we covered previously over the past years. This time round, the focus is placed more on local Singaporean photojournalists.
World press photos 2022
Additionally, the other gallery complimentary to the local photo exhibition is the World Press Photos. This photo gallery covers a more international focus. It celebrate the best in visual and interactive journalism, through the most powerful, provocative and poignant images from around the world.
This year’s installment of the World Press Photos covers mostly human social talking points. Examples includes Long term projects in Europe by Guillaume Herbaut, and the Book of veles on fakes news by Joanas Bendiksen’s.
Notably, the National Museum had been running and hosting the World Press photos exhibition for the last 5 years. Notably the roaming annual exhibition started out over 6 years ago being a photo exhibition at Raffles Hotel. This was before their debut here at the National Museum since 2016.
Moving images
A section tells a story of photos of the 1976 massacre of Bangkok students immortalised by Charinthorn Rachurutchata in Thailand. Moreover, Interestingly, a moving image by President Joko Widodo on Indonesia forest fires by photo journalist Abriansyah Liberto.
Also, notable items on display this time round are on-going photo journals, particularly one of an African long term projects by Rijasolo in Madagascar and France. There is also another by Sentil Kumaran in India covering Bengal tigers. The photos speaks of life of handers who go about saving and rehabilitating tiger settlement after brushes with human settlements.
However, Strangely, despite being a 2022 event, there is a notable little coverage on the current ongoing Ukrainian-Russian war. Also, notably glaringly absent this time is an extensive Nature photo selection.
All in all, you are good for the world press exhibitions for under and hour tops. A gallery to check out when you are exploring the other galleries within the National Museum or even the adjacent Fort Canning Center for green spaces and a brush with war history. The photo exhibition runs from 7 to 29 October 2022. The gallery opening hours of 10am- 7pm is tied to that of the museum’s daily opening hours. Admission to the photo exhibition is free.
