KOCHI:
As an opportunity for photographers to engage seriously with subjects of cultural value in India and/or South Asia, Sahapedia, the digital encyclopaedia of Indian arts and cultures, has announced the second edition of its annual Frames Photography Grant.
Funded by IndusInd Bank, the Sahapedia Frames Photography Grant will be awarded to 20 photographers, who will be shortlisted by well-known photographer and curator Dinesh Khanna, currently working with Sahapedia.org as the chief visual consultant. Khanna, who is the core trustee of Nazar Foundation and a co-founder of the Delhi Photo Festival, will be involved with the selection process in consultation with the editorial and content teams of Sahapedia.
“The Grant has been organised to give emerging and established photographers the space and means to document the diverse anthropological, artistic and cultural landscapes of South Asia. In this age of instant gratification through the mass production of images, Sahapedia intends to adapt a more classical approach to photojournalism by encouraging photographers to engage in ‘slow photography’. Slowing down the process and shooting over a longer duration of time will allow the photographer more intimate engagement with the subject and more investigative depth in their stories”, says Ayan Ghosh, Visual Researcher at Sahapedia.
Under the Photography Grant, photographers — who will be awarded the grant amount of Rs 25,000, exclusive of travel expenses that will be reimbursed separately — will get the opportunity to execute their projects for a duration of three months, beginning 1st January 2019. The last date for applications is 15th November, and the selection process will conclude by 25th December.
The photographic works produced by the grantees will be published on Sahapedia’s website, sahapedia.org, and on associated social media platforms as photo essays.
Applicants are required to submit a concept note (not more than 300-500 words) outlining their proposed theme, along with a copy of their resume and a portfolio of their online or published work. All submissions should be sent to frames.grant@sahapedia.org.
The previous edition of the fellowship received applications from over 300, out of which 25 candidates made it to the final list. Photo essays from the first edition of the grant can be accessed on the Sahapedia website (https://www.sahapedia.org/sahapedia-frames), which include narratives focusing on the fading grandeur of Shekhawati’s havelis, Kargil’s marginalised local Balti communities, and the tattooing culture among Madhya Pradesh’s Baiga tribe.
Details of the submission process, including eligibility and rules, are available on (https://www.sahapedia.org/sahapedia-frames-photography-grant).
