SINGAPORE - Talks on photojournalism and guided tours will return after a two-year hiatus as part of the Through The Lens exhibition from Friday at the National Museum of Singapore.
The exhibition will feature photographs from The Straits Times photojournalists alongside winning images from the 2022 edition of the World Press Photo Contest.
The exhibition was last held in January 2022 and was centred around exploring the impact of climate change in Singapore.
More than two years have passed since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, with life gradually returning to normal in recent months.
While safe management measures such as mask wearing, gatherings limited to small groups, and the tapping of TraceTogether tokens at SafeEntry gantries might be a thing of the past, these aspects of life in Singapore during the pandemic have been immortalised by ST photojournalists.
These images, videos and interactive stories will be on display at The Straits Times' multimedia exhibition Photojournalism In The Time Of Covid-19.
ST photo editor Stephanie Yeow said: "Photographing Covid-19 presented its challenges for our photojournalists. Documenting it all was an important mission for us as we knew this was history in the making.
"We hope we have done a decent job doing so."
Mr Dominic Nathan, ST associate editor and managing editor of SPH Media Trust's English, Malay and Tamil Media Group, said: "We are excited to present our exhibition Photojournalism In The Time of Covid-19. We entered the pandemic not knowing how it would end, but now that we are on the other side, it is time to showcase how different facets of society are bouncing back."
He added: "The Straits Times is also thrilled to present the internationally renowned World Press Photo exhibition, which celebrates the best in photojournalism."
The World Press Photo exhibition features powerful, provocative and poignant images from around the world.
The World Press Photo Contest recognises the best photojournalism and documentary photography of the previous year.
This year, the winners were chosen from 64,823 photographs and open-format entries by 4,066 photographers from 130 countries.
Ms Rena Effendi, the global jury chair, said: "Together, the global winners pay tribute to the past, while inhabiting the present and looking towards the future."
Over the coming weekends, there will be a series of talks by ST photojournalists, Singaporean photographer Mathias Heng and Canadian photographer Louie Palu. Mr Heng documented the ongoing war in Ukraine, while Mr Palu won the World Press Photo Long-Term Project Award for North and Central America for his work Political Year Zero.
The first of these talks, titled Covid-19 - The Reopening of the Nation in Pictures, will take place on Oct 8 at 11am. It focuses on how ST photojournalists covered the gradual lifting of Covid-19 restrictions in Singapore.
ST chief photojournalist Kevin Lim, senior executive photojournalist Kua Chee Siong, executive photojournalist Jason Quah and photojournalist Feline Lim will share the stories behind their images and the challenges they faced.
The exhibition is held in partnership with the National Museum of Singapore, logistics company Trinity Cargo Link, German think-tank Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Singapore Press Club.
It will be open from 10am to 7pm from Oct 7 to 29 at the museum's Longer Concourse on level one and the Glass Atrium on level two.
Those who wish to attend the talks must pre-register here.
Admission to the exhibition is free.
Talks by photojournalists
Oct 8, 11am: Covid-19 - The Reopening of the Nation in Pictures
Oct 15, 11am: Witnessing the Invasion of the Ukraine War
Oct 15, 2pm: Politics & Photography in a Post-Truth World
Oct 22, 11am: On Drone Photography & Juxtaposition Techniques
