While November is the Month of Photography is France, the French Institute has chosen February and March to celebrate photography in India. Organized through the network of French Alliance chapters across India, Fête de la Photo will feature twenty exhibition dedicated to French and Indian photographers and will be held in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta, Hyderabad and Trivandrum.
In Mumbai, the Fête de la Photo began January 1st during the Kala Ghoda festival for dance, music, theatre and the visual arts. A traveling photo studio set up in the heart of the festival welcomed anyone who wanted to have their picture taken against a backdrop depicting Paris or the castles of the Loire River. Indian photographers Anay Mann and Arun Gupta took care of both the shooting and the post-production, allowing visitors to have their picture taken “in France.” This initiative proved to be very popular with the public, and it served as a way to introduce them to France while paying tribute to the heritage of Indian studio photography.
North of the city, the Nehru Sciences Centre hosted the traveling exhibition Astrophotography, which brought together the work of Laurent Laveder, Thierry Legault and Ajay Talwar, who offered three ways of seeing the sky. It was both mysterious and poetic.
Finally, the Fête de la Photo in Mumbai extended onto social media, with a treasure hunt organized by the city. Participants went looking for clues that led them to photograph Mumbai and post their work of Instagram. More than 1,000 photos have been posted since the start of the hunt. The first edition of the Fête de la Photo was a resounding success here in Mumbai, both online and offline.
The full program is available here.
