Visual narratives: Hyderabad all set to host Indian Photo Festival 2024

Tenth edition of Indian Photo Festival to begin in Hyderabad from November 21, with workshops, exhibitions, portfolio reviews and masterclasses

The Indian Photo Festival (IPF) 2024, which will take place in Hyderabad from November 21 to January 5, will be its tenth edition. The annual fest will return, presenting workshops, masterclasses and portfolio reviews to help aspiring and emerging photographers fine-tune their craft. Interactive sessions and exhibitions entice visitors to look at photography as an art form and a tool for storytelling, in addition to offering a throwback to photography in the pre-digital era.

“Since the IPF’s inception a decade ago, we have tried to give participants a 360-degree view of photography as an art form, and use images to sensitise people to pressing issues,” says IPF founder and director Aquin Mathews. To explain the impact of photography, he cites an example of an architecture student visiting the IPF in 2022; on viewing Smita Sharma’s photographs on the rehabilitation of victims of trafficking, she was inspired to join a voluntary organisation to help similar victims. 

Aquin recalls listening to a talk by Chris Rainier, a National Geographic explorer, documentary photographer and filmmaker, in Australia a decade ago. “His talk inspired me to curate a photography festival in India and that led to the IPF.” Ever since, efforts were on to get Rainier to be a part of the festival. This year, the photographer is one of the speakers and will showcase his images in an exhibition titled Mask.

Chris Rainier’s participation is among the highlights of this year’s IPF. Aquin, who frequents international photo exhibitions and is constantly on the lookout for interesting work, says the IPF will continue to build on its existing format of showcasing curated exhibitions (physical and digital), alongside conducting workshops, masterclasses, and facilitating portfolio reviews. 

Among the exhibitions, look out for retrospectives. The exhibition Photography Strictly Prohibited will feature selected works of (late) cinematographer and still photographer Navroze Contractor. 

Twin Sisters With Cameras will showcase photographs by Debalina Mazumder and Manobina Roy, who were among the early women photographers in India. 

Did you know that the Governor of Telangana Jishnu Dev Varma’s ancestor Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1837-1896) of Tripura, was one of the first to have a still camera when it arrived in India, alongside Lala Deen Dayal? The exhibition Reflection of an Era will showcase prints of photographs by the Maharaja. “It is interesting to learn how the Maharaja photographed his family and his surroundings. He also took a selfie (in 1885) using a long pneumatic bulb remote control,” Aquin explains.