This exhibit is a glimpse of life in the east, of life in rural areas of Sumba Timur. A representation of families’ daily lives in remote regions, captured through young students’ eyes, aged 9 to 12.

They open their houses to us, share their regular meals with us, invite us to follow them on the way to school, see their island and hills from morning until night. They capture those moments that punctuate their lives and explain them to us. Creating stories from these images is also an important part of the exhibition, whose artwork has been selected through this curation process. They not only open the door, but also want to explain and tell stories through photos. All we have to do is watch and listen.

From the remote region of Kahaungu Eti sub-district in the eastern part of East Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, their villages are named Kamanggih and Matawai Katingga. 28 of the 48 children are writers and artists of an exhibition entitled “Kabar Dari Timur” which translates to “News from the East”. Through these photographs and stories, audiences in Indonesia and worldwide can imagine and immerse themselves in the daily lives of children in the region.

Due to Covid-19 pandemic, cancellation of socio-cultural events and halt of learning and teaching activities in Indonesia, the exhibition had to be adjusted. Hence, it was adapted online, making accessible to a larger audience through smartphones, tablets or computers.

It is hoped that this medium will make it possible to re-transpose the message of this series of photographs and stories as near as possible to reality.

This exhibition will be held until March 2021, via website sumbaphotostories.com

Sumba Photo Stories is a program initiated by Kawan Baik Indonesia and Fair Future Foundations. A collection of factual information from the actors’ subjective perspective, using the medium of photography and creating stories from it.

In their environment and through this social, cultural and educational program, the actors offer real perspectives of their life’s quality, based on their authentic insight.

The exhibition “Kabar dari Timur” features children as protagonists. However, this program is adaptable and can be implemented for various actor subjects: women’s groups, traditional craftsmen, or actors in certain other occupations.

The main objectives of this program are to learn new skills, such as photography and storytelling, increase writing skills for children and adults, and increase the confidence to speak or present the artwork to the audience.

The resulting work, the photo stories, are work of art in their own. They are also a factual basis analyzed for research work in the socio-cultural, educational or health fields.