Viravong SUNDARA (VIRA)

Profile

Born in Lao PDR in 1994, lives and works in Vientiane. Graduated with a BA in Political Science from National University of Lao in 2017. Viravong Sundara is a self-taught artist who is passionate on photography as a medium to talk rather than speak. He has been practicing photography since he was in high school, back to 2012, until now. In parallel with it, he had been practicing other medium to develop his art skill until he met his mentor who sparked him into curatorial work in 2019. Afterward, he showcased his own exhibition called “6+9=8 Beyond Infinitive Photo Exhibition” to poke the community about the change of the art in Laos. 

Recent exhibitions 
2020 “Lao Art Season – Reveal Your Art Instinct, Exhibition,” Mandala Hotel, Vientiane
2020 “6+9=8 Beyond Infinitive Photo Exhibition,” Mandala Hotel, Vientiane 

Recent activitiesAwards
2021 Regional judge of “Tenkawa Photo Contest,” Cyclorama Studio, Vientiane
2019 Judge of “Fest Photography Contest,” Neerada High School, Vientiane
2019 “Emerging Artist Fair – Fashion & Photography Training,” Stella, Vientiane 

About works

The contemporary art in Southeast Asia has been flourishing for the past decades, however, the contemporary art from Lao PDR or Laos, as is commonly referred to, remains a rare case. One among many challenges is to solve the lack of curatorial practice. The first curatorial workshop was held in 2006 under the project “Mekong Art and Culture Project” funded by Rockefeller Foundation, yet so far, there is only one curator in Laos. His current research aims to establish the a theoretical foundation for an instrument of curator training programs that will be developed in the following studies