PRESS RELEASE
3 November 2015
Photo Kathmandu, Nepal’s first international photography festival, opens today, 3
November, with an official launch at 5pm at the Patan Museum.
The festival is organized by photo.circle, a Nepali platform for photography, and aims to
facilitate interaction between photography, history, anthropology and a wide array of the
arts, providing a much-needed injection of cultural vibrancy in Nepal’s post-earthquake
recovery period this year.
November 3 marks the official opening of the festival, which features 18 print exhibitions
from both foreign and local photographers, all curated around the theme of ‘TIME’, and a
series of artist talks and discussions that will take place from 4-8 November at Yala Maya
Kendra, Patan Dhoka. The inaugural edition of Photo Kathmandu features works by over
100 artists from more than 31 countries.
Many of the exhibitions – all anchored in the city of Patan and its streets, courtyards and
alleyways– are being shown in Nepal for the first time. These include the fascinating group
portraits of Finnish photographer Tuomo Manninen, who photographed Nepalese
professionals in the 90s, to images that document Nepal’s political upheavals by Australian
photographer Philip Blenkinsop. Exhibitions also include a series from the 90s by veteran
Nepali photojournalist Bikas Rauniar; a close documentation of the Raute, the last nomads
of Nepal, by Kishor Sharma; a series on life in Susta, a disputed area of land between Nepal
and India, by Prasiit Sthapit; and an intimate tribute to his father by Surendra Lawoti.
A series of 6 workshops led by a host of photographers, artists and scholars from across the
world, including photographer Frédéric Lecloux, oral historian Indira Chowdhury, photo
editor Thomas Borberg, art historian Christopher Pinney, campaign manager Robert
Godden and photographers Kishor Sharma, Shikhar Bhattarai and writer Prawin Adhikari
have been ongoing for the past week and will continue until 9 November. A 7th
participatory mural project/workshop titled ‘Inheritance’ by The Fearless Collective will
explore ideas of fears and memories that are passed on from one generation, through
participatory storytelling in public spaces, using archival photographs and weaving together
traditional styles of painting.
The opening tonight will see the handover of Rs 12,00,000 to the Kwelachhi Chyasal Tol
Sudhar Samiti to rebuild ‘Lampati’ – a local heritage site in Chyasal, Patan that was
destroyed by the April earthquake. These funds were raised by Photo Kathmandu through a
Special Print Sale that the festival has been promoting for the past four months. An Award
of Excellence will also be presented to veteran Nepali photographer Mani Lama for his
contributions to Nepali photography.
Photo Kathmandu will run up to 9 November 2015. All events are open and free to the
public.
The festival has been supported by Shikshya Foundation Nepal, the Embassy of Switzerland
in Nepal, Nepal Investment Bank Limited, CKU Danish Centre for Culture and Development,
Embassy of Finland in Nepal, Turkish Airlines, Alliance Francaise in Kathmandu, Alliance for
Social Dialogue, UNESCO, and Heidelberg University’s South Asia Institute, among others.
For additional information: www.photoktm.com
For a complete list of artists: www.photoktm.com/artists
For full festival schedule: www.photoktm.com/schedule
For information on the fundraising Print Sale: www.support.photoktm.com
For other press enquiries:
NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati
Festival Co-Director
nayantara@photocircle.com.np
+ 977 9851014930
Pranaya Rana
Press Coordinator
pranaya.rana@gmail.com
+977 9803949662
For regular festival updates
www.photoktm.com
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