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The Changing Face of Laos Through its Music

Laos, a small land-locked communist country sandwiched between Thailand, Vietnam and China, is transforming into a consumer culture like its neighbors. Emerging artist, Todd Sanchioni, traveled throughout Laos searching for musicians, photographing them with a Mamiya 6×7 and a 35mm camera, and recording their sounds. Beautiful black and white photographs and the music that goes with them are the vehicles by which the visitor is introduced to an array of Lao musicians: From the traditional Isan sounds of Mr. Khamsuan, and the Hmong “qeej” player in the mountains, to “The Cells” (the most popular rock-and-roll band in Laos), and the hip-hip group known as L.O.G. (Laos Original Gangstas). Many of the changes taking place in Laos are represented by the changes in its music. Portable CD players will be available for visitors to listen to the music of corresponding photographs as they walk around the gallery; Also, for those who want to listen on their own mp3 player, a podcast of the music will be linked to Todd’s website for downloading from their own computer. fotosanchioni.com

 “The Douglass Street Lab,” a private writing workshop is led by SFSU’s Matthew Clark Davison. It focuses on the prose experiment, and is named after the street where the group meets. “Douglass Reads 7” will feature short shots from the works-in-progress of:

 Brent Fluty
 Zach Grear
 Lorena Landeros
 Andria Lessler
 Tanya Milosevich
 Jason Peeples
 Mark Rubnitz
 Stephanie Schenkel
 Anne Schukat
 Kate Simmons
 Charles Smith

America is a photographic project about the artist’s time in the United States. There are two collections of pictures: the San Francisco project and the California project. The San Francisco project is a collection of pictures taken in the streets of the city. The California project is about the feeling of being outdoors. Ursula Huete is originally from Barcelona, Spain.