The Obscura Photo Festival is not obscure at all. It is in fact, one of the most prominent events in the photography industry. Held in Malaysia for the fourth time, the festival attracts artists and photographers from continents far and wide. The venue is 'George Town', Penang - a buzzing city that was once a tiny village discovered by a British trader in 1786. Adorned with the architectural remnants of the colonial era, and coloured by an amalgamation of rich cultures from the peninsula, the city is slow and laid back, giving you the feeling that everything is suspended in time.  With the onset of the Photo Festival, one can expect the pace to shift, with the flurry of workshops, exhibitions, talks and networking sessions all in store for the many visitors expected to attend.

We are especially excited about this, since our 2nd year Bachelor Program students are headed to the event. They're being led by Daniel Boetker Smith, the course director of PSC who also heads the Asia Pacific Photobook Archive (APPA) and co-founded the Melbourne Photobook Festival, (the first photobook festival held in Asia Pacific) which was launched in Melbourne this year. He is accompanied by lecturer Isabella Capezio, who is an extremely active artist and photographer in the industry. Isabella has been responsible for activating Photobook competitions in countries like Cambodia and has done many workshops with APPA, as well as the Angkor Photo festival.

Exclusively held for PSC students, the Obscura Photo Festival has 3 amazing workshops in the pipeline, with Hajime Kimura, Sarker Protick, Wawi Navarroza and Leonard Pongo taking the spotlight.

Students will be there for the week from 9th August to celebrate the art and industry of photography, networking with established as well as emerging photographers and curators, from around the globe. We are excited about their trip and look forward to hearing about their experiences.