Aturcara Forum

The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) advances mutual understanding and collaboration between the people of Asia and Europe through intellectual, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges. These exchanges include conferences, lecture tours, workshops, seminars and the use of web-based platforms. The major achievement of ASEF is the establishment of permanent bi-regional networks focused on areas and issues that help to strengthen Asia-Europe relations.

Established in February 1997 by the partners of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), ASEF reports to a board of governors representing the ASEM partners. ASEF is the only permanent physical institution of the ASEM process. Since 1997, the Foundation has initiated projects engaging 14,000 individuals from Asia and Europe. ASEF works in partnership with other public institutions and civil society actors to ensure its work is broad-based and balanced among the partner countries. http://www.asef.org

The Asia-Europe Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture, the National Art Gallery Malaysia, Goethe-Institut Kuala Lumpurand Japan Foundation  Malaysia with the support of Nikon Malaysia, the Annexe Gallery and Epson Trading (M) Sd Bhd presents the “Creative Economies” Forum which will bring together 23 emerging photographers and 8 facilitators cum resource persons from Asia and Europe.

The Format of the Forum consists of two phases. The first phase will begin with the blog interaction and exchanges between the participants and the facilitators. This phase will be followed by an intensive week of lectures and workshops during 11- 18 May 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, where photography collaborations will be complemented with dialogues focused on the exploration and experimentation of artistic photography in the context and manifestation of the creative economies with Peter Bialobrzeski, Photographer and Professor for Photography, University of the Arts, Bremen, (Germany), Dr Shahidul Alam (Bangladesh), Director of “Chobi Mela”  - International Festival of Photography, Alex Moh (Malaysia) initiator of the Kuala Lumpur International Photography Biennale, Yee I- Lann (Malaysia) multimedia artist, Hiromi Nakamura (Japan), curator of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Nathalie Belanchye (France), independent curator, Masaaki Nishimiya (Japan) Dean of the Photography departmetn of Nagoya University of Arts and sciences and Martin Fuchs (Austria), Magnum Photo editor.

The theme of the Asia-Europe Emerging Photographers’ Forum 2009 is centered on the topic of “Creative Economies”. Twenty-three emerging photographers will portray indirect and alternative economic outlooks ranging from the topic of gift economies, social cooperation, sustainable economies in Asia and Europe. Through these narratives, the photographer’s will open different spaces of imagination, metaphors, fictions, reality and advantages within the context of the current economic crisis.

How can creative photography impact the perception of shifting economies in the globalised world and in which ways can social cooperation and creativity meet in the space of indeterminate economic capacity? The emerging photographers will exchange their photographic narratives from Asia and Europe conceptualizing documentary and digital photographic formats. To promote future visions and to overcome global financial instability at the local level this process will show the diverse range of possibilities of the medium of photography. The participants will also have the chance to exhibit their work on the theme of Creative Economies during a public exhibition to be inaugurated on Saturday May 17, 2009 at the Annexe Gallery Central Market, Kuala Lumpur.

The “Creative Economies” Forum will be publicly launched with the exhibition from the work called “Secured Area” at the National Art Gallery, Malaysia on Tuesday May 12th, 2009. This exhibition is as a result of the collaborative process with the participants of the Future Image: Asia-Europe Forum for Young Photographers, held in Ireland in 2007.