Women – Out of the Frame

A photography initiative by the National Peace Council and Menika van der Poorten

‘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 or 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 will 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 4 and 10 July 2013 at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery. The deadline for submission is on 24 April 2013.

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 recognised 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 organisers. 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 publicised. The exhibition and workshops are supported by The National Peace Council and the Royal Norwegian Embassy.

The project has been conceived and directed by photographer/educator/curator, Menika van der Poorten. Menika began 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 in the wider field 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 she was co-curator  on the recent British Library/British Council exhibition on Sri Lanka, ‘ A Return to Sri Lanka’.

Menika has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally. Her most recent works have involved working on a web projects including “Iam.lk” and her own project on The Sri Lankan Eurasian community and 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 artist’s residency funded by ‘Creative Scotland’ at Cove Park Trust in Scotland.

Anyone wanting to participate in this project should call 0777800076 or email [email protected] (contact details will vary depending on language of newspaper).