Just Another Photo Festival's Best of 2017

Dayanita Singh’s Museum Bhavan, published by Steidl, also exhibited worldwide
Pushing at the boundaries of the traditional conception of the photobook, Museum Bhavan brings together a curated selection of images in a multi volume book set of books conceived as a travelling exhibition. A precious object, it is tactical and brings an element of performance and curation to the individuals experience of the work. A brilliant reinvention of a medium, which won Book of the Year at Paris Photo 2017.
Witness Kashmir 1986-2016, various photographers ed. Sanjay Kak
A scintillating insiders’ account of local Kashmiris capturing the turmoil of their land and presenting the collective public memory in Kashmir across unrest and peace. The emphasis of the book is on the common space where photographers, spectators and subjects are all witnesses in their own right. In its form as a book, an object, and a resource, this opens up endless possibilities of engaging with the truth, if there is such a universal standard. The book features the work of Meraj Ud din, Javeed Shah, Dar Yasin, Javed Dar, Altaf Qadri, Sumit Dayal, Showkat Nanda, Syed Shahriyar and Azaan Shah.
Laura El-Tantawy’s In the Shadow of the Pyramids at Art Heritage, Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi
A visually arresting show combining prints, projection and sound design. Wonderfully immersive and intimate, this is history viewed from the inside out with a poignant use of archival prints from the photographer’s own past, allowing us to view what was termed the “Arab Spring” through a wider sense of personal history.
Photographing the Female, curated by Sarah Julie Ege Høilund and part of the Focus Photo Festival in Bombay
Bringing together a diverse range of image makers, Photographing the Female “is a global platform that uses the transformational power of visual storytelling to explore what it means to be female around the world today”. Excellent curation and selection of different photographers and presentsed as part of the Focus Photography Festival in Bombay, which aims to bring photography to public spaces across the city where it can be accessed by the widest possible audience.
Cinema Travellers exhibition by Amit Madeshiya and Shirley Abraham, at PhotoInk Delhi
Cinema Travellers documents the last remaining mobile cinemas in India. The exhibition at PhotoInk brings together a mesmerising collection of portraits, faces transfixed by the on screen extravaganzas. A pure emotional joy. The Cinema Travellers film which premiered in Cannes 2016, was shown over 90 festivals this year and has won over 17 awards.