Nepali Times

From 3-9 November the alleys and courtyards of Patan will be transformed into a live exhibition space as the old town plays host to Nepal’s first international photography festival, Photo Kathmandu. The week-long festival is being organised by the photo collective, photo.circle.

“Patan is an incredibly rich urban landscape - both in terms of tangible but also intangible heritage; the patis that are home to evening bhajans, the local corner shops that sell woh, aloo, sukuti, choela. By locating a festival in the midst of this, by trying to weave it into the fabric of the Patan streets, we would like to both celebrate this urban landscape as well as draw attention to how it needs careful planning and preservation,” says festival director NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati of choosing the festival destination.

Eighteen print exhibitions showing works of both national and international artists, with the theme ‘Time’ will be on display. Organisers say each of the exhibition represents a chapter in the history of Nepal and are hopeful visitors will recognise themselves in these images.

“At this present time of great political and social transitions here in Nepal- we hope these stories will spark retrospection and reflection on our past, present and where we would like to head in the days to come,” says Kakshapati.

A curated walk through Lalitpur is also on offer. Besides exhibitions, the festival is also curating several workshops and talks on visual story telling. Pre-festival events began this week on Tuesday with a workshop on oral history writing by Indira Chowdhury, director of the Centre for Public History at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in India.

With over 45 international artists and many Nepali photographers from outside Kathmandu participating, the team has been forced to deal with unseen logistical challenges. However, the team is staying positive.

Says Kakshapati: “If people from places as far away as Belgium and Swaziland can make it, we figure, people from across town will make an effort to come to Patan.”

EXHIBITIONS

BIND Photobook Exhibition and Library by The BIND Collective

An examination of the relationship between the memories of visitors to the festival and the city of Kathmandu, with artist readings of texts by Janette Winterson, Hervé Guibert, Aveek Sen and others.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 5pm

Newa Chen, Kulimha

Change of course by Prasiit Sthapit

Prasiit Sthapit’s photographs of the village of Susta, calls for attention to this endangered settlement which once lay on the west bank of the Narayani River.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Chyasal

Everyday Epiphanies by Frédéric Lecloux

Photographer Frédéric Lecloux first came to Nepal 20 years ago, and says he finds a certain link between his own disorder and the one that characterises the towns and villages he keeps returning to.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Dhaugal-South Wall

Facing the camera: A History of Nepali Studio Photography by Nepal Picture Library

A look back at how royal painters-turned-photographers started studio photography in Nepal.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 4pm

Keshav Narayan Chowk, Patan Museum

History begins at home: Diverse narratives of young

people living in Kathmandu by Sharareh Bajracharya, Niranjan Kunwar and Nepal

Picture Library

Features artworks created during a pilot program of Nepal Picture Library’s ‘Retelling Histories Education Program’.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Adarsha Kanya Niketan School, Patan Museum

Hope for Tomorrow by Nicolas Marie and Swotha Community

Hope for Tomorrow tells the story of a community: the inhabitants of and others connected to the Swotha Square in old Patan.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Swotha

In the Shadow of Hope by Philip Blenkinsop

Philip Blenkinsop captures Nepal after the Royal Massacre.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Old Court House, Hakka

Juju Bhai Dhawa: Keeper of memories by Nepal Picture Library

Juju Bhai Dhakhwa’s photos capture the communal alongside the familial; a chorus of faces that repeat throughout the collection shows the fluid intersection between the private realm of the family and the public realm of festivities and excursions.

3 to 9 November, 12 to 4pm

Dhakwa House, Nagbahal

Living in the mist: the last nomads of Nepal by Kishor Sharma

A closer look at the lives of Rautes- Nepal’s last remaining nomads.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Twilako Tol (Adarsha Kanya Niketan School north wall)

North Fake by Maia Ruth Lee and Peter Sutherland The first collaboration between the husband and wife duo.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Pim Bahal

Patan Camera Obscura by Laura Diamond Dixit, Miku Dixit and Rene Fan

Using the principles of the camera obscura, the installation casts the inverted image of the void left behind the fallen temple of Char Narayan (destroyed in the April earthquake) into a room overlooking the square. The result: a view of the square that was impossible to see before the earthquake.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 5pm

Yala Guest House, Patan Darbar Square

Patis in Patan by Christiane Brosius, Rajendra Shakya and Sujan Chitrakar

A curated walk through Lalitpur.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Patan Darbar Square, Chakrabahil, Sundhara and Chyasal

Portraits of Nepal by Kevin Bubriski

Former peace corps volunteer Kevin Bubriski has been photographing Nepal for over 40 years and is known for his iconic black and white images.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Bhai Dega, Patan Darbar Square

The 90s: A democratic awakening by Bikas Rauniar

A reminder of an era that is all but forgotten.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

Dhaugal- East Wall

The Man from Limbuwan by Surendra Lawoti

This two-part exhibition traces the journey of two men – father and son – both men from Limbuwan who travel far from their ancestral hills of Therthum, in the eastern hills of Nepal, to the heartland of Nepali politics and to faraway places around the world.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 5pm

Image Ark, Kulimha

Time maps and memories: The Sumitra Manandhar Collection by Nepal Picture Library

Spanning the period between the 1960s and the 1990s, this collection of 900-odd photographs illustrates the various dimensions of life within the Manandhar family, Sumitra’s own experiences, as well as aspects of rural life in Nepal across the 1980s and 1990s.

3 to 9 November, 10am to 7pm

ZYU, Swotha

We by Tuomo Manninen

Finnish photographer Manninen’s group portraits are an intermingling of documentary and dramatisation.

3 to 9 November, 10 am to 7pm

Mulchowk Entrance, Patan Museum

WORKSHOPS

Photographing the Everyday

Writer and photographer Frédéric Lecloux will work with young photographers to build a meaningful photography story with elements that might change the way they look at their lives and their context.

30 October to 2 November, 9am to 2pm

Alliance Francaise in Kathmandu, Teku

Visual thinking in the editorial process

Danish photographer Thomas Borberg will conduct the workshop and discuss how Danish newspaper Politiken works with photo and other visual elements.

1 to 4 November, 9am to 2pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Writing Photography

This four-day workshop will explore practical and conceptual approaches to critical commentary on photography. Moderated by Christopher Pinney.

2 to 5 November, 9am to 2pm

Sundhara House

Using visual media for social justice campaigns

The workshop will investigate a range of issues and approaches to use images for social justice, explore issues of representation, collaborative methodologies, and how to best prepare a communication strategy.

5 to 6 November, 9am to 2pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Beyond the camera

This two-day workshop will introduce participants to the basics of research, ethics, caption writing and digital workflow.

7 to 8 November, 9am to 2pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Inheritance

The Fearless Collective explores fears and memories that are passed on from one generation to each other.

7 to 9 November, 9am to 5pm

Patan

TALKS

Artist Talk: Philip Blenkinsop

4 November, 3 to 3.45pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Presentation: Students works from Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX)

4 November, 4 to 4.45pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Artist Talk: Strangers at Home-Migrant Domestic workers in HongKong by Robert Godden

4 November, 4.45 to 5.30pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Talk: Iraqi photography by Philippe Van Cauteren

5 November, 3 to 3.45pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Artist Talk: After an elusive world by Anne Golaz

5 November, 4 to 4.40pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Discussion: History of South Asian photography

Christopher Pinney & Tanzin Wahab, moderated by Pratyoush Onta

5 November, 4.40 to 5.30pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Artist talk: Kevin Bubriski

6 November, 3 to 3.40pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Discussion: The Journey of the Photobook Sohrab Hura & Dragana Jurisic, moderated by Nishant Shukla

6 November, 3.45 to 4.35pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

**Presentation: World, Press & Photo reflected by Micha Bruinvels **

6 November, 4.45 to 5.30pm Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Instameet

7 November, 9am to 12pm

Dhokaima Café, Patan Dhoka

Artist talk: Yu: The Lost country by Dragana Jurisic

7 November, 2 to 2.40pm

Baggikhana Hall, Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Artist talk: Why are you looking at me like that? By Andrea Stultiens

7 November, 2 to 2.40pm

Gaushala Hall, Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Talk: Living with photographs – being a collector by Isabelle Darrigrand

7 November, 2.40 to 3.30pm Baggikhana Hall, Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Discussion: Seeing comes before words, but who tells the story?

Alisa Sett, Sohrab Hura & Frédéric Lecloux, moderated by Rabi Thapa

7 November, 2.40 to 3.30pm

Gaushala Hall, Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Artist talk: Rohan Thapa

7 November, 3.40 to 4.20pm

Baggikhana Hall, Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Artist talk: A river’s tail by Gareth Bright

7 November, 3.40 to 4.20pm

Gaushala Hall, Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Discussion: Product vs Process

Ankit Suwal, Brianna Bartlet, Indu Antony, Ralph Smit, Sanjeev Maharjan & Tushikur Rahman, moderated by Philippe Van Canteran

7 November, 4.20 to 5.30pm Baggikhana Hall, Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Discussion: Professionalising Nepali photography Bikash Karki & Raj Bhai Suwal, moderated by NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati

7 November, 4.20 to 5.30pm

Gaushala Hall, Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Presentation: Retelling histories curricular project by Niranjan Kunwar and Sharareh Bajracharya

8 November, 3 to 3.40pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Artist Talk: Finding your voice by Sailendra Kharel

8 November, 3.40 to 4.20pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Discussion: The Earthquake and the Image Athena Zelandonii, Narendra Shrestha & Sam Reinders, moderated by Austin Lord

8 November, 4.30 to 5.30pm

Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka

Read also:

Remembering the future, Stéphane Huët

Documenting dukkha, Cynthia Choo