Image © Smita Sharma.
Set within India’s City of Pearls, the festival platforms human interest stories covering love, war, and human rights
This November sees the highly-anticipated return of Indian Photo Festival (IPF) to the capital of southern India’s Telangana state, Hyderabad. Founded by photographer Aquin Mathews, IPF is both a not-for-profit initiative and India’s longest-running photo festival. From 18 November to 19 December 2022, IPF will host a wide range of exhibitions, workshops, talks, panel discussions, and portfolio reviews over several locations, including State Art Gallery and Salar Jung Museum.
Exhibitions include We Cry In Silence, from photojournalist and International Women’s Media Foundation fellow, Smita Sharma. The visual result of a long-term investigation into cross-border trafficking of underage girls in South Asia, the work will also launch in book form at IPF on 18 November.
Meanwhile, on 20 November, Husband-and-wife team Harikrishna Katragadda and Shweta Upadhyay will be in conversation with writer Nishat Fatima. The pair will discuss their collaboration, an ode to the multifaceted experiences of love entitled I will be looking at the moon, but I’ll be seeing you. The book was recently shortlisted for the Paris Photo/Aperture PhotoBook Award 2022.
Running throughout IPF, and marking 75 years of Indian independence, Drishti will celebrate Indian image-making with an exhibition and commemorative book. The exhibition, which will showcase 82 Indian photographers, is curated by Aditya Arya and presented by Museo Camera and India Photo Archive Foundation.
Also on show is Ana Bloom’s La route des SOUFFLES, BREATH, Debe Arlook’s one, one thousand…, In the world but not of it; The Hutterites by Tim Smith and Cop Shiva’s touching tribute to his mother, My Mother & Her Many Technicolored Sarees. In addition, works by Portrait of Humanity Vol.4 winners will be on show at the State Art Gallery for the duration of the festival.
Another festival highlight is the interactive programme, including a free-to-attend editing workshop with National Geographic photo editor Dominique Hildebrand. The two-day workshop for all-ability photographers with long-term projects will introduce participants to the power of visual narratives and ways to craft compelling and cohesive edits.
The IPF programme also includes portfolio reviews with the National Geographic team and a two-day visual storytelling masterclass with Delhi- based photographer, Srinivas Kurugantin a series of art talks happening throughout the festival, hear Sabeena Gadihoke, Julia Coddington, Selvaprakash Lakshmanan and more discuss their work and personal journeys. Also in conversation are World Press Photo award-winner and founder of Women Street Photographers Gulnara Samoilova and Hindi poet, documentarian, and political activist, Tarun Bhartiya.
The eighth edition of Indian Photo Festival launches in Hyderabad, India, on 18 November 2022 and runs until 19 December 2022.