MDS supports Veggie Thursday

Macular Degeneration Society is now a proud supporter of Veggie Thursday, which aims to increase people's consumption of plant foods and reduce their consumption of meat by encouraging this to go veggie once a week, on Thursday or whatever day suits them.

This idea appeals to people for different reasons, including health, environment and animal welfare. Going full-time vegetarian doesn't work for many people, but once a week is a target most people can fairly easily reach.


Veggie Thursday hasn't been launched yet in Singapore but we will keep you posted of its latest developments. The programme has been endorsed by other organisations, including WINGS, Nature Society, Singapore Environment Council, AWARE and ACRES.

AMD art exhibition

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Khoo Teck Puat Hopital to Host Art Exhibition by Award Winning London Artist Adam Hahn

AMD Awareness Week 2010

Venue: Foyer, Auditorium, Level 1, Tower B, KTPH

Date: 28 August – 03 September 2010

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly (aged 60 years and older) in developed countries. AMD is a potentially blinding eye condition which predominantly affects central reading vision and the other common tasks such as the ability to recognise faces.

With Singapore’s rapidly ageing population, AMD is likely to become a major public health problem here. In response to the emerging challenge of AMD, the department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital is organising the AMD Awareness Week from 28 August to 03 September in collaboration with many national and international organizations to raise the awareness of AMD.

As a part of the activities of the AMD Awareness Week, we will be hosting art exhibits by award-winning London based artist, Mr Adam Hahn, from 28 August to 03 September. This exhibition, which is the first of its kind in Singapore, will display portraits depicting how patients with varying severities of AMD actually see the world through their eyes. The exhibit of 16 portraits opens on 28 August 2010 at 10am.

Mr Hahn will be present on the day to discuss his work and what inspired him to do it. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, will continue through 03 September, 5pm. The work is a result of more than a year of study of AMD – a disease that is the leading cause of vision loss in those over 50 in the developed western world.

Prior to painting each portrait, Hahn spoke at length with each subject about what they can and cannot see. His paintings illustrate how the individuals in the portraits would see themselves through the blur of their limited vision.

As Hahn puts it, "Normally my work shows how I view the person sitting for the portrait. Through these works, I show how the subjects see themselves and others." Adam created the portraits in memory of his grandmother who was affected by macular degeneration. Hahn’s work has been widely acclaimed by the London Times and BBC.

Twice a recipient of the BP Portrait Award hosted by the National Portrait Gallery, London, Mr Hahn had a year in which to research macular degeneration. With the assistance of The London Project to Cure Blindness, he spent time with patients suffering from the condition, and gathered data at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Institute of Ophthalmology. He used his research to direct these paintings.

The August 28th opening coincides with the launch of the AMD Awareness Week, an annual nationwide collaborative effort initiated by the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, to raise the awareness of AMD in Singapore.

Click here to read more about Mr Hahn.