Reading Southeast Asia 2022 —— A Collaborative Project with Fotobook DUMMIES DAY

Reading Southeast Asia 2022 is an online survey and research project that continues the research results of the past two years (six cities) of Fotobook DUMMIES DAY. The project is aimed at the four Southeast Asian cities that have not been visited before—Singapore; Bandung, Indonesia; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. New interviewees were contacted and 23 online interviews were completed with independent Southeast Asian art publishers, visual creators, and self-publishers. A representative from each city was selected to produce four interview articles in the form of a Q&A, constituting an annual Southeast Asian photobook and self-publication online feature.

After completing the online research, the project curated the content into Taiwan x Southeast Asia Photography and Publishing Talk Live Radio and Southeast Asia Photobook and Self-Published Book Exhibition: SEA Reading Room to tour Taipei, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. Through promotional activities and physical exhibitions, local creators and audiences were assembled. Southeast Asian and Taiwanese creators were invited to talk about the new books of the year and exhibit the 2022 Southeast Asian photography books and self-published works, strengthening direct communication between Taiwan and Southeast Asian photography communities and audiences.