“Of all the means of expression, photography is the only one that fixes a precise moment in time.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson, French photographer & painter
Photography is the medium through which everyone can communicate & share their life moments with the world. World Photography Day, celebrated each year on 19th August, pays tribute to the history of photography.
Did you know that the French inventor Joseph Nicephore Niepce took the first-ever photograph in this world in the year 1826? Later, in 1837, French inventor Louis Daguerre devised the Daguerreotype process. On 9 January 1839, The French Academy of Sciences announced this process and a few months later, on 19 August 1839, the French government announced this invention as a gift to the world. The day henceforth was coined as the World Photography Day.
Over the past years, The French Institute in India had the opportunity to collaborate with numerous partners in the field of photography, such as The Chennai Photo Biennale, Serendipity Arts Foundation, Alkazi Foundation, BIND, Umrao Singh Sher-Gil Foundation, Jaipur Photo, Goa Photo and the Alliance française network in India. ; in order to promote and highlight this visual practice and its practitioners in France & in India.
Every year, the French Institute in India supports :
- Artistic residencies of French & Indian artists in both countries in collaboration with the Alkazi Foundation
- French presence in major festivals throughout India in collaboration with Chennai Photo Biennale, Jaipur Photo, Goa Photo
- Indian presence in France throughout the Serendipity x Arles Grant
- And many other collaborations inviting French photography experts such as Quentin Bajac (Director of Jeu de Paume), Christine Barthe (Head of Photographic Collections at Quai Branly), Damarice Amao (Assistant Curator – Photography department at Centre Pompidou), Sam Stourdze (Ex-director of Les Rencontres d’Arles) to discuss together with their Indian contemporaries on topics linked to the photographic world.
This year we will continue exploring the medium with a special exhibition to be curated by Rahaab Allana, curator of the Alkazi Foundation. The show will gather four renowned artists : Indu Antony & Aparna Nori from the Kanike Collective, Arpan Mukherjee from Studio Goppo and Philippe Calia.
Watch this space and follow our projects!