From 1996–2006, Nepal was in the grips of a war that pitted the government forces against the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists). This period was marked by intense violence that left almost 17,000 dead, 1,300 disappeared, thousands disabled, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
For the Maoists, music emerged as a powerful tool during the war, serving not only as propaganda, but also as battle cries and catharsis. Musicians poured their hearts into words and melodies, singing of fury, bullets and bombs, blood painting the land red, the struggle of war, and also of flowers blooming, smiles, warm embraces, love, and of life itself.
With the war’s end, the monarchy abolished, and the Maoist party transitioning into mainstream politics, disillusionment grew. Feeling betrayed by the war’s resolution, many of the musicians came to realize that their songs only dreamt of a revolution but could never bring about the changes they had so desperately hoped for. Moonsongs for Earth offers a musical exploration of this decade-long war in Nepal: the dream for a just, egalitarian society and the subsequent betrayal.
Artist Bios
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Prasiit Sthapit
Prasiit Sthapit (b. 1988) is a visual storyteller based in Kathmandu. In 2016, he was the recipient of the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund Grant and was selected for the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass. He is currently associated with Fuzz Factory Productions, a multimedia collective based in Kathmandu, photo.circle, a platform for photography in Nepal and Photo Kathmandu. He is also the director of Fuzzscape, a multi-media music documentary project. In 2022, he was a Magnum Foundation Counter Histories Fellow.
Organizations
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Magnum Foundation
Magnum Foundation expands creativity and diversity in visual storytelling, activating new audiences and ideas through the innovative use of images. Through grants, mentorship, and creative collaborations, we partner with socially engaged imagemakers exploring new models for storytelling. Since our founding in 2007 by members of the Magnum Photos cooperative, we have made more than 600 direct grants to visual storytellers from over 80 countries. To find out about upcoming exhibitions and events, learn about grant opportunities, or join our community of support, please visit magnumfoundation.org
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PhotoKTM
Organized every two years in Kathmandu by photo.circle, PhotoKTM is a festival that creates time and space for image-makers and others to come together to describe the world, and discuss the world with shared concern and agency. The festival platforms several collaborative artistic, research and pedagogic initiatives that attempt to feed into on-going local and global conversations and campaigns. For more information, visit photoktm.com
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Aperture
Aperture is a nonprofit publisher that leads conversations around photography worldwide. From our base in New York, Aperture connects global audiences and supports artists through our acclaimed quarterly magazine, books, exhibitions, digital platforms, public programs, limited-edition prints, and awards. Established in 1952 to advance “creative thinking, significantly expressed in words and photographs,” Aperture champions photography’s vital role in nurturing curiosity and encouraging a more just, tolerant society. For more information, visit aperture.org
Moonsongs For Earth
Featuring: Prasiit Sthapit
Curated by: Sarah Perlmutter Tif Ng
Locations
ON VIEW AT: Container 22
View Location Details Download a detailed map of this location Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza1 Water St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
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This exhibition accompanies the Spring 2024 issue of Aperture magazine, “Counter Histories,” produced in collaboration with the Magnum Foundation. A related exhibition is on view at the Magnum Foundation through June 26. Open hours are Wednesdays 4 – 6 PM, at 59 East 4th St., 7W, New York, NY 10003.
This exhibition is produced with support from Magnum Foundation’s Counter Histories Initiative, which supports projects that revisit and reframe the past in the context of the present. Counter Histories is supported by The Henry Luce Foundation.
