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EXHIBITION
STITCHIN OUR STORIES
MEDIA GALLERY
MEET THE TEAM
CONTACT
TAEC
PHOTOFORWARD

STITCHING OUR STORIES:
​Community Research Programme

STITCHING OUR STORIES GALLERY
COMMUNITY RESEARCH TEAM GALLERY
COMMUNITY DOCUMENTARY: VIDEO GALLERY
Stitching Our Stories (SOS) is a joint programme of the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (TAEC) and PhotoForward that provides a rare opportunity for Lao women to explore their cultures through photography, documentary film, interviews, and material culture. Through this three-stage programme, participants learn to use digital media, including photography and documentary video, to explore the lives of women and girls in their communities and the often-seismic impact that modernization is having on traditional beliefs and practices. 
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​The first stage of the SOS program is a six-week introductory workshop series with a focus on developing digital photography skills and techniques while documenting the broad range of work that Lao women undertake. This program includes formal workshops and one-on-one coaching sessions and culminates in a community celebration and exhibition. 

The current community of Stitching Our Stories media artists consists of a diverse group of 28 women and girls from Hmong, Kmhmu, Phounoy, Tai Dam, Tai Lao, and Tai Lue ethnic groups. They range in age from 9 to 37 and are students, handicraft makers, mothers daughters, business owners, and market sellers. Meet the Stitching Our Stories Artists and view their Portfolios in the Media Gallery...
SOS COMMUNITY RESEARCHERS

Graduates of the Stitching Our Stories workshop are eligible to apply for the Community Researchers training program, which offers intensive workshops in digital photography as well as an introduction to documentary film and ethnographic research. ​
The researchers­‐in­‐training came together over several months to further develop their skills and interview techniques and set out in their own communities to document the varied and changing roles of women in Lao society. Although the participants come from a variety of economic and cultural backgrounds they all share the excitement of having the tools and training to explore their traditions and share their stories. Their research topics have ranged from traditional medicine, Tai Lue weavers, and parenting to Hmong shamans, textile artists, and papermaking.

Upon completion of the training program, participants become Community Researchers for TAEC and youth participants are eligible for an internship position at the museum. Meet the Community Researchers and learn more about the lives and work of women in Laos...
STITCHING OUR STORIES AROUND THE WORLD

The ongoing work of the Stitching Our Stories participants have become part of TAEC's permanent cultural archive and has been featured in the museum's special exhibition, Caregivers to Culture Keepers, since October 2014. The SOS artist's photographs, oral histories and documentary films have also been featured in the following exhibitions, film festivals, and special events:

  • 2013 & 2014 Luang Prabang Film Festivals, Luang Prabang, Laos
  • Between History and New Horizons: Photographs of Women, Work, and Community in Laos, Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, Texas, USA 2013-2014
  • 2014 Durham Women Rising Festival, ‘Welcome to Our World: Film Screening’, Durham, UK
  • ​2014 Angkor Wat International Film Festival, Siem Reap, Cambodia
  • 2014 International Women’s Day Exhibition, New Leaf Gallery, Siem Reap, Cambodia
  • United Nations 58th Commission on the Status of Women, 2014 Women's Caucus for Art Panel, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY, USA
  • Qhia Dab Neeg (Hmong Storytelling) Film Festival 2014, In Progress and Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA 
STITCHING OUR STORIES BEHIND THE LENS

CONTACT US:

Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center
Ban Khamyong Luang Prabang - Lao P.D.R 
Phone: (+856) 71 253 364 
[email protected] 
www.taeclaos.org


PhotoForward 
New York, Cambodia, Laos
inf[email protected]
www.photoforward.org 
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and universal human rights
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All images, photographs, text, and artwork on this website are protected by Copyright © and are the exclusive property of 
PhotoForward™, MediaForward™, Allison Milewski, and/or our partners. 
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  • Home
  • About
    • PhotoForward
    • Advisory Team
  • Programs
    • PF Programs
    • Exhibitions
    • Scholarship
  • Galleries
    • Project Galleries
    • Cambodia: Women's Strength & Stories (WSS) >
      • CWSS EXHIBITION GALLERY
      • PHOTO SUBMISSIONS >
        • 2016 PHOTO CHALLENGE!
      • MEET THE JURY
    • Cambodia: Our View, Our Story >
      • Our View, Our Story
      • Our View: Photo Gallery
      • Our View: Meet the Artists
      • Our View: Behind the Lens
    • Cambodia: Through Our Lens (TOL) >
      • Through Our Lens (TOL)
      • TOL Artist Gallery
    • Laos: Culture Keepers Museum Exhibition
    • Laos: Stitching Our Stories (SOS) Program >
      • Stitching Our Stories (SOS)
      • Women at Work
      • SOS Artist Portfolio 2012-13
      • Behind the Lens
    • Laos: SOS Community Research Project >
      • Community Research Project
      • SOS YouTube Page
    • Laos: Advanced Photo Stories Workshop
    • New York: The Photo Studio
  • Culture Keepers
    • Culture Keepers Exhibition
    • Stitching Our Stories
    • Media Gallery >
      • Community Researchers Gallery
      • SOS Artist Gallery
      • Culture Keepers: Video Gallery
    • Meet the Team
    • Contact & Contribute
    • SOS EXHIBIT PORTFOLIOS
  • News
  • MediaForward
  • Contact