Jaipur, Feb 24 (IANS) Some of the most renowned figures from the world of photography have assembled here to participate in the third edition of "Jaipur Photo", an international photography festival held every February in the pink city.
The much anticipated event was inaugurated on Friday. Lola MacDougall, artistic director 2018 edition of the festival, highlighted the addition of Jantar Mantar (Jaipur) in this year's edition which they had been pursuing since the festival's inaugural edition.
"It has taken us three years to find a photographic body of work that does justice to this huge but modestly expressed ambition," she said.
Produced by Orange Cat Productions in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, Rajasthan government, a total of 14 exhibitions are being staged across the city of Jaipur.
Locations include the Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Jantar Mantar and the Albert Hall Museum, with site-specific exhibitions and large-format prints adapted to the exceptional architecture of the venues.
MacDougall's speech was followed by the guest curator, Aaron Schuman, who spoke about curating this year's festival on the theme "Homeward Bound", which was inspired from the classic 1966 song by Simon and Garfunkel. He explained in detail about the exhibitions of all the participating photographers.
The keynote speaker Erik Kessels could not attend the festival due to poor health and was replaced by Karen Knorr, who spoke on the topic "Storytelling with Vernacular Photography" with her works.
"We are delighted to welcome the third edition of Jaipur Photo, a festival presenting photography from India and around the world in non-conventional formats and in public spaces. We hope that this eclectic mix of exhibitions scattered across the six venues will provide you with new insights into the 'homes' and 'homelands' of others, and will inspire to personally reflect upon your own idea of home and what it means to you," MacDougall said at the inauguration.
During this weekend, a series of talks, lectures and screenings at the Jawahar Kala Kendra by renowned photographers will complement the festival's exhibitions.
