Egyptian Eyes

Portrait- Egyptian Eyes- Bibliotheca Alexandria, Egypt 2008.

Book Launch ' In The House Of The Muses'

 The Bibliotheca Alexandria has published a book from the exhibition ' In The House Of The Muses' .

The exhibition travelled to the library in Alexandria Egypt in October 2008.

The book has finally arrived and I have 500 copies to distribute here in Australia, exclusively.

 

© Susie Hagon - Bibliotheca Alexandria, Egypt.

                                             An International Photographic Portrait Exhibition

                                           “ FACES OF THE BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA"

                                                                             and

                                                          “ ANTIPODEANS OF NOTE “

                                            By Photographer Susie Hagon and Artist Darian Zam

                                    An Inspirational Legacy of the Ancient Library Alexandria, Egypt.

The Ancient Library of Alexandria was one of the most ambitious and exciting intellectual ventures in the history of humanity. For the first time in history 2,300 years ago, an attempt was made to collect universal knowledge, codify, organize it and open up cultures to each other.

The modern Library of Alexandria the BA had it’s inaugural opening in 2002 and has become a landmark building of Architecture and Culture in Alexandria, Egypt and the Middle East.

Our project is inspired by this legacy

Photographer Susie Hagon and artist Darian Zam have combined their artistic talents to brilliant effect enabling them to present a visual body of work themed on the cross-cultural exchange of knowledge and creativity.

Lorenzo Montesini, Chairman of the Australian Friends of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and Photographer Susie Hagon a committee member of the friends of the BA, travelled to Alexandria, Egypt in April 2007 to take a series of portraits of faces of the of the BA, the result of a fascinating collection of people working in the Library from the Professor’s of Manuscripts, Antiquities, Architecture and Science to the Chief Librarian and Academics from all fields.

We have simultaneously photographed Iconic and Creative Australians in their various fields to mirror the Egyptian side of the project.

The collective quote from the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, is as follows… “ THE BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA CREATES A PLATFORM FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST BY GIVING FACE TO EACH OTHER ”.

The exhibition opened in Sydney, at the Egyptian Consulate, 2^nd to 23^rd May 2008. Then travelled to Canberra, ACT opening at the Egyptian Embassy, 18^th June to 23^rd July 2008.

“In The Houses of the Muses” Then travelled to Egypt, and was hosted by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt, 18^th October 2008, launched by Dr Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina And HE Ms Stephanie Shwabsky, Ambassador of Australia to Egypt. The Exhibition is in collaboration with The Australian Friends of the BA to promote understanding and awareness, to the wonderful institution the Bibliotheca Alexandrina represents throughout Egypt, the Middle East and the world.

                                                     An exhibition of Cross Cultural exchange.

Susie and Lorenzo outside the Greek Club on the first day of the BA photo shoot 2007.

NEPAL, Kathmandu 2011- Blue Diamond Society.

I participated in the Jack Picone/Stephen Dupont Workshop in Kathmandu July 2011, Jack and Stephen are wonderful tutors and an inspiration to work with, highly recommended! 

I feel I choose a challenging subject, to make my documentary but it was a fantastic experience. 

The photo essay is of a small group of volunteers and members of the Blue Diamond Society. They all have their own personal story and are part of the LGBT ( Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender ) community that the BDS helps create for gender minorities to live with equal rights, dignity and to have hope and opportunities.  

Megnah, Ashmita, Ditahman and Roxanne were my portrait subjects, they were amazing, they let me into their life and homes to photograph them in their private world, we became good friends, they are fantastic people and were wonderful to work with.

The Blue Diamond Society was established at 2001, to raise awareness for sexual minorities in Nepal and to improve the sexual health, human rights and wellbeing of sexual and gender minorities including third genders, gay men, bisexuals, lesbians and other men who have sex with men. The BDS provides education, support and advice to Nepal’s Gay community and runs the country’s only AIDS/HIV prevention programme, partially thanks to a $40,000 US grant donated by Sir Elton John. The programme includes psycho-social counselling, raising awareness and documenting human rights violations.

Some of the violations documented by the BDS are of murder, rape and all varieties of physical and verbal abuse.

VISION

* Societies, which respect and value each sexual and gender minorities. * Societies where each sexual and gender minorities can live with equal right and dignity. * Societies where all sexual and gender minorities have hope and opportunities.

MISSION

* Blue diamond society fights for sexual and gender minority’s social justice and right. * We deliver immediate and lasting improvements to the lives of sexual and gender minorities in Nepal and beyond.

 

The founder of the BDS, Sunil Babu Pant (pictured centre) was instrumental in making his country the first in South East Asia to protect gay rights. In a landmark ruling last December, Nepals Supreme Court, gaurenteed sexual minorities the same rights as other citizens. Sunil is also the first Gay Man elected to Nepals's 601- member Constituent. Mr Babu is now part of a governmental body responsible for drafting the Nations new constitution.

Members of the BDS.

© Susie Hagon

Megnah

© Susie Hagon

Ashmita

© Susie Hagon

Ditahman

© Susie Hagon

Megnah, Ditahman and Roxanne at the Blue Diamond Society.

Cambodia 2011

I travelled to Siem Reap Cambodia in June 2011, to work as a volunteer and to document an NGO. As fortune has it, I ended up working with some simply wonderful people with Touch a Life. Mavis Ching, Kosal Som, Jacob and Carsten were my immediate  buddy's, including others that worked hard to produce the most healthy and nutritious food for the poorest villages of Siem Reap. 

After preparing the food in Mavis backyard kitchen, we went out on convoy in Carsten's Army Jeep and motor bikes, to do food drops in the remote back waters and outer villages of Siem Reap and to help provide medication for those with HIV and other serious illnesses.

What struck me most was the absolute dedication, of the people I was working with and how magnificent the response was from, the children and families they were helping.

Up to 2,500 meals are distributed in a month.

TOUCH A LIFE FOUNDATION- Operates a number of shelter's to improve the life of children to protect them from HIV, trafficking, mistreatment, neglect and living in poverty.....

Mavis Ching the founder of Touch A life a (free meal program) in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

More than 820 million people in the world suffer from hunger; and 790 million of them live in the Third World countries such as Cambodia.

"How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world" Anne Frank

Kosal

Mondul Bay, one of the poorest villages in Cambodia.

Mavis on the back of the bike, great woman!

Jacob and Carsten

The team

This YouTube is an inspiration, my congratulations to the cleaver people who produced it.

Walk to `bridge' the gap for women around the globe

MORE than 250 people walked the Sydney Harbour Bridge on this morning, the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, to support Women for Women International.

The organization works with socially excluded women in eight countries where war and conflict have devastated lives and communities, including Sudan and Iraq.

They enrol women in a one-year program where they learn job skills and receive business training so they can earn a living, and teach them about their rights.

Similar bridge walks were held in several countries around the world.

Jenny Bassett

Jenny Basset met Zainab the founder of WfWI in New york 7 years ago.  A couple of months later 
Zainab came to Australia and Jenny organised a media campaign and a small 
cocktail party at her home and from that Zainab met Mercedes Zobel who is now
the Patron of WFWi and is the driving force behind the London and Australian
office. Jenny has been in the process of registering WFWi Australia and has
held a number of awareness events in Sydney.