The calendar of photography related events in the country is getting a little busy. The upcoming Goa International Photography Festival is the latest to join the list. Photographer Shantanu Sheorey of The One School Goa, an interdisciplinary creative media school, the force behind the festival, says that the aim of the event is to draw more attention to the art of photography. “Photography has now become very democratic, which is why the festival is very youthful in terms of display. From young students of the school to 77-year-old National Geographic photographer William Albert Allad, we have them all,” says Sheorey, who has shot for campaigns like Taste the Thunder with Salman Khan, Only Vimal with Vivian Richards, Garden Vareli , and the Dabangg 2 movie posters.
More than 75 photographers from India and other countries will show in eight exhibitions featuring 500 images. Amongst the international lot there are Ed Kashi, Judy Dater, David Turnley, Martin Parr, Anna Fox, Karen Knorr and Catherine Karnow. On the Indian side there are prominent photographers from the field of documentary, travel, fashion, fine art and commercial photography, including Sheorey himself, Suresh Natarajan, Mahesh Bhat, Prasad Naik, Farrokh Chotia, Prashant Panjiar, Dinesh Khanna, Mahesh Shantaram, Manoj Jadav and Prashant Godbole among others.
There is also a section which has 143 award-winning photographs from World Press Photo, the Amsterdam-based non-profit organisation known for holding the world’s most prestigious annual photography contest.
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“So that young students can observe trends and patterns and different styles in practice in these countries, we have clubbed American photographers together, British ones at one place, and so on.”
Since the event is happening in Goa, there are exhibitions on the coastal state — “Faces of Goa” (a collection of portraiture from around the world), “Hidden Stories of Goa” (works done by students of The One School Goa), “Goa in the rains”, (on the monsoon), “Colours of Goa” (everyday life).
Making it a rounded affair is a host of activities like artist talks, walks, workshops. “A salient feature of the festival is to discover, inspire and develop the next generation of photographers and creative thinkers,” adds Sheorey.
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(The Goa International Photography Festival will take place from February 10 to 21.)