Photography arrived in India in 1840 and ever since it has remained rooted in the distinctive aesthetics and cultural iconography of the sub-continent while also serving as a reflection of the political context of the times. The symposium will be chaired by Rahaab Allana, consultant curator of Illuminating India: Photography 1857–2017, curator of the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts in New Delhi and Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society in London
Booking is now open here: http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/Plan_your_visit/events/exhibition_events/illuminating-india-events/indias-place-in-photographys-world
India’s Place in Photography’s World
Science Museum
Friday 6 October, 14.00-19.00
Free, ticketed / All ages
Comments
I have just been looking through the Royal Photographic Society's 1955 list of their holdings of photo periodicals: "what is believed to be the most extensive collection of photographic periodicals in the world", it states. The list is 20-odd pages and probably about 800 titles are listed from the 1850s onward. Presumably most of the listed volumes actually survive (after languishing in Bradford for years). The collection has now been acquired by the V&A and one hopes will become accessible after sorting etc. It will be invaluable for historians of photography, and I was particularly struck by the number of periodicals listed that were published in India, from the 19th century to the 1940s. This would be an idea source for some historian (e.g. a PhD scholar) to use for a study of the history of photography in the Indian subcontinent from its origins through the turbulent years up to Independence. The list gives a place of publication for each periodical, making it easy to find relevant titles. I might also add that there are periodicals listed from Russia, eastern Europe, Japan, China, Canada, etc.