Vignes Balasingam

Vignes Balasingam is a curator and photographer based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He is the director of the prestigious OBSCURA Festival of Photography. This website is a gallery of selected works from his personal and commercial photographic practice as well as links to current and past projects. Vignes Balasingam graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Contemporary Music Writing from the University of Westminster, London.

Corporate + Govt. Clientele

BP  (United Kingdom)
Deutsche Bank (Hong Kong)
Draft FCB
Franklin Templeton (Malaysia)
Leighton Asia (Hong Kong)
NokiaSiemens (Malaysia)
PEMANDU (Malaysia)
Sarawak Energy (Malaysia)
Shell (Malaysia)
Siemens (Malaysia)
Ministry of Women, Family & Community Development, Malaysia
Ministry of Federal Territories, Malaysia
Ogilvy PR (Malaysia)

Editorial

The Guardian
The New York Times
Financial Times
Getty Global Assignments
Energiewende-Magazin (Germany)
INTHEBLACK (Australia)
Cubes Magazine (Australia & Singapore)
Mens Folio (Malaysia)
KLUE (Malaysia)
Junk Magazine (Malaysia)

Non-profit Clientele

UNHCR
UNICEF
Amnesty International
Mercy Malaysia


Current Engagements


The Line of Least Resistance

a multimedia exhibition on urban sprawl and climate change

- Artistic Director and Project Manager


George Town Diary

a solo exhibition by Peter Bialobrzeski

- Programme Director


Contested Spaces

a personal photographic project on urban planning


CURRICULUM VITAE

Academic Awards

BMus. Univ. Westminster, London, UK

-

Industrial Awards

Malaysian Music Industry Awards (AIM)
Best Album Artwork - for Estranged's Remain Unknown (2010) Album
(photography and art direction)


Curatorial + Art Direction


2023-24
The Line of Least Resistance
Producer-Curator
- Supported by the National Geographic Society.

2013-2020
OBSCURA Festival of Photography

2016-2020
we will have been young
Group Exhibition & Tour
George Town & Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Singapore, Jakarta & Bandung, Indonesia; Manila, Philippines; Bangkok, Thailand; Hanoi, Vietnam; Yangon, Myanmar; Frankfurt, Berlin, Germany.

2018
Confluence by Ian Teh, Ruang Gallery, 2HK, Kuala Lumpur

2017
Alvin Lau Solo Exhibition,
Jeon Ju Photo Festival, South Korea

Songs From the Nusantara,
Foto Zürich, Switzerland

2016
Songs From the Nusantara,
Chennai Photo Biennale, India

2015
Person(a),
White Box, Publika, Kuala Lumpur

Travel Photographer Asia

2014
Confluence, Ian Teh
Exhibition and Book Launch
Publika

2012
Fotoprojek: Bersih 3.0 Retrospective, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur


Exhibitions (of Personal Works)

2020
KL 20x20 Exhibition 

More listings to be updated soon...

Jury + Nominator


2023
Jury, World Press Photo

2020
Head On Photo Awards
Sydney, Australia

2019
Joop Swart Masterclass
World Press Photo

2018
The Fence, Brooklyn, NY
Travel Photographer Asia

2017
6X6 Global Talent Programme, World Press Photo

Getty Images Instagram Grant

POPCAP African Prize for Contemporary Photography, Switzerland

Photo Zürich, Switzerland

2016
Kuala Lumpur International Photo Awards

Travel Photographer Asia

POPCAP Awards for Contemporary African Photography

POPCAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography

2014
Angkor Photo Festival Portfolio Reviewer


Awards

2009 - Winner of the Golden Scarf Foundry Photojournalism Workshops, Manali, India

2009 - Best Album Artwork, 16th Malaysian Music Industry Awards (Anugerah Industri Muzik ke-16)


Other


2020
Mentor:
Long Term Project Photography Workshop 2020, Bangkok, Thailand

2018
In Conversation With Manit Sriwanichpoom, A+ Gallery

2017
Creative Director, Workshop Mentor & Picture Editor
Children Without : UNICEF Report on Urban Child Poverty in Kuala Lumpur

External Supervisor
Master of Arts, Photography Studies College, Melbourne, Australia

2015
Lecture: A Quick Look at Photographs : The Active Role of Photography In Shaping Our Understanding of the World, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang

Talk & Presentation: Photographs From the Land, talk at The Nikon Center, Kuala Lumpur

Take Photo for What Talk at Yale University NUS Campus, Singapore

2014
Angkor Photo Festival Portfolio Reviewer


Publications

2014 - Confluence, for Ian Teh (Panos) - Editor & Project Management:

2017 - We Will Have Been Young - work from the Southeast Asian Photography Masterclass: Project Manager. Designed and published by dienacht Publishing, Germany.


NEWSLINKS

Using Format