Aidha’s much-awaited signature event, the 4th edition of Unspoken Life Photography Exhibition was launched virtually on 4th October 2020. For the first time ever, we brought our exhibition online by displaying winning photographs in a virtual gallery. The online exhibition is curated by local photography zine, Your Local News Stand. Despite the many challenges this year, we received almost 200 amazing submissions of varying photography styles and were very impressed with the compelling stories behind each photo. 

Unspoken Life seeks to delve beneath the labels and unfurl the many selves of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) often unseen by Singapore society. The virtual exhibition also celebrates the strength, courage and creativity of foreign domestic workers – who are also mothers, sisters, daughters and artists – here seeking a brighter future for themselves and their families. 

In our first competition category, Shining a Light, we wanted to explore the narratives of the unseen and often overlooked. The photographs we received shed a light on those behind-the-scenes and their importance to our lives, whether they are objects, people, or aspects of our natural world. Our second category, Beauty in Diversity, focused on the different cultures, experiences and voices found in Singapore. We received many vibrant and colourful images for this category! The last category, EmpowHERment, asked the photographers what empowerment means to them and how it has changed their life. It was a tricky category but we received interesting and abstract submissions that were skilfully taken.

The overall winning photograph was taken by Jean E. Ragual and it features a group of migrant workers resting. Not only did the photo demonstrate excellent technique, but the meaning behind the photo also resonates well with the category – Shining a Light.

For the People’s Choice Award, we opened to a public vote, inviting our followers to select their favourite photograph by reacting to it on Facebook. It was a fun week as we received an influx of likes and hearts. This winning photograph for People’s Choice received more than a thousand reactions – the highest amount of likes and hearts we have received on Facebook! 

We hope our participants enjoyed themselves exploring the world of photography! A big thank you to our supporters, esteemed panel of judges and everyone who helped make this year’s very special edition of Unspoken Life happen.

The featured photographs are all taken by FDWs as part of Aidha’s Unspoken Life Photography Competition 2020. Photographs are available for sale, with all proceeds going towards Aidha’s 2020 Gift of Education campaign to raise funds for our financial education programmes.