Taking Art to the People

TAKING ART TO THE PEOPLE 

Herald Review December 14, 2014 

In its inaugural edition in February, Goa Photo 2015 a public art photography festival will celebrate photography outside the gallery, on the streets of Panjim.


LISA ANN MONTEIRO 

After playing host to India’s first science meets art festival, the State’s picturesque capital will once again provide the setting for a public art intervention titled Goa Photo. The inaugural edition of this annual international photography exhibition will take place from February 25 till March 7, 2015 with the aim of showcasing photography from around the world in a democratic non elitist fashion.

Over 180 photographs will be displayed on a stunning scale mounted on special installations and divided into three main clusters in streets, parks and open institutional spaces to facilitate the discovery of photography and Panjim’s architectural heritage.

A curated event, each edition of the festivals will revolve around a specific theme. Frank Kalero founder OjodePez in Barcelona and co founder Punctum magazine ( Delhi) who has also curated three editions of the GetxoPhoto Festival ( Bilbao) will be the curator for the first edition of the festival. The theme chosen is ‘ The Other’ where the focus will be on the interpretations of portraiture.

The artists will include 14 international photographers and four Indian photographers.

Mexican photographer Alinka Echeverria’s series ‘ The Road to Tepeyac ( 2010)’ featuring the six million faithful who make the annual pilgrimage to Tepeyac in Mexico City to mark the anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe, will adorn the stairs leading to Immaculate Conception Church and serve as the postal image of the festival.

Another selected photo essay is Gauri Gill’s ‘ Balika Mela II ( 2010)’ where she created a photo studio in a tent at a fair for girls in a local town in Rajasthan. She returned seven years later to find many of the same girls she had photographed earlier. She shot in colour this time.

Sebastian Cortes gained access to the veiled Bohra community and captured the people and the unique architecture of their homes in his photo essay ‘ Sidhpur ( 2014)’. Alexia Webster created free outdoor photo studios on street corners around South Africa inviting people to pose free of cost. ‘ Street Portraits- A South African Family Album ( 2011- ongoing)’ will be displayed at the festival where she will also experiment with a similar travelling studio on the streets of Panijm.

Swiss photographer Joel Tettamanti’s essay ‘ Kobo ( 2013)’ focused on the Basotho people of Lesotho, South Africa who under colonial rule switched from wearing traditional skins and furs to covers manufactured in Europe.

Sheetal Mallar’s series ‘Dabolim (2014)’ is a photo essay on the workings of naval officers at otherwise restricted military facility at Dabolim Naval base.

A number of workshops, seminars and presentations by the participating photographers will also form part of the festival.

One of the highlights and a first for Goa will be the Magnum Workshop Goa where Magnum Photos, the prestigious photographic cooperative will partner with Goa Photo 2015 for a four day program beginning February 25 to guide photographers in various aspects of documentary storytelling. The second initiative by Magnum Photos in India, the workshop will be held at the State Central Library for selected photographers for a fee. Scholarships will be offered to two Indian photographers to participate for free. A Goan photographer under the age of 25 will be offered one of the scholarships.

Participants will be guided by Stuart Franklin - who won the World Press Photo Award for his photo of a man defying a tank in Tiananmen Square - and Richard Kalvar who has served as president Magnum Photos.

Goa Photo 2015 is being conceptualised by Frank Kalero, Ishan Tankha, Lola Mac Dougall and Nikhil Padgaonkar, all specialists in cultural management and photography.

Lola Mac Dougall, director of the festival who has served as cultural adviser for the Embassy of Spain in India says the event will appeal to people because it is not a classic photography exhibition with its focus on Western photographers. A lot of non European photography will form part of the festival. “ It will be a very unconventional photography festival where all art will be displayed on the street, easily accessible to everyone interesting in interacting with it.” The inaugural festival will be simple she says but will grow and make a name for itself with each passing edition. “ We want to make this an annual event for photography and art lovers. Panjim is one of the most beautiful and walkable cities in the country that has the potential to grow into a cultural hub. We want to build on Panjim heritage with this initiative.” Review Bureau  

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