Objectifs Documentary Award Exhibitions

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Description

From indigenous spiritual practices to food security, these documentary projects from Southeast Asia bring us closer to our environment and each other.

Hear from the recipients of the Objectifs Documentary Awards as they share about the challenges and complexities of telling stories about their native communities.

• 4 April to 18 May | Free admission
• Artist talks: Saturday 5 April

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Exhibitions and Artist Talks

The Forest Listens, Their Spirits Cry

• By Gab Mejia (Philippines)
• Recipient of the Objectifs Documentary Award, Open Category
• Curated by Goh Sze Ying
• Chapel Gallery, Objectifs

Through the stories of Filipino Indigenous queer and women shamans, known as the Baylan, The Forest Listens, Their Spirits Cry seeks to reframe collective perceptions of forests, amplify indigenous and queer voices, and cultivate a vision of ecological liberation—one unbound by oppressive binaries, discrimination, militarization, and colonial structures.

Related event

• Nature and Spirit: An Artist Talk with Gab Mejia
• Sat 5 Apr 2025, 2.30pm – 3.30pm | Objectifs Workshop Space

REGISTER HERE

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Tubig Alat (Salt Water)

• By Geela Garcia (Philippines)
• Recipient of the Objectifs Documentary Award, Emerging Category
• Mentored by Jessica Lim
• Lower Gallery 1, Objectifs

Tubig Alat (Salt Water) takes a profound look into the lives of artisanal saltmakers who uphold a tradition that is steeped in patience, perseverance, and hope.

While the Philippines is home to some of the rarest salts in the world, local salt varieties are rapidly approaching extinction due to unsupportive policies, industrial neglect, and the accelerating effects of climate change.

Tubig Alat endeavors to preserve not only the tradition of salt-making, but also the communities that rely on it.

Related event

• All life depends on salt: An Artist talk with Geela Garcia
• Sat 5 Apr 2025, 4pm – 5pm | Objectifs Workshop Space

REGISTER HERE

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Mattude

• By Aziziah Diah Aprilya (Indonesia)
• Recipient of the Objectifs Documentary Award, Emerging Category
• Mentored by Jessica Lim
• Lower Gallery 2, Objectifs

A term for “collecting clams,” Mattude represents not only the act of gathering but also the resilience of the coastal women of Makassar, Indonesia.

The project captures the resilience of the coastal women, sharing their stories and their ongoing fight to preserve both their livelihoods and their spiritual bond with the sea in the face of the degradation of the sea ecosystem—caused by reclamation, pollution, and climate change.

Related event

• Collecting the Clams: An Artist Talk by Aziziah Diah Aprilya
• Sat 5 Apr 2025, 1pm – 2pm | Objectifs Workshop Space

REGISTER HERE

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In Good Time

• Saturday 5 April 2025, 7pm – 9pm (Drinks and registration from 6pm)
• Platform, Objectifs | Minimum donation of $150

A fundraising dinner that centres stories from Southeast Asia.

Designed as an edible response to the artists showcased at the 7th edition of the Objectifs Documentary Award, the menu is inspired by Southeast Asian produce and the transformative qualities of time, and is conceived by food artist and chef Kuah Kai Wen, together with Practice Tuckshop.

Proceeds from this event will benefit Objectifs, a registered arts charity and Institution of Public Character. Your donation will enable us to continue our mission to cultivate original voices in visual storytelling, and inspire and broaden perspectives through the power of the image.

BOOK YOUR SEAT HERE