Print: Wanted Dead or Alive

Online, August 29, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Aksgar and Goa Center for Alternate Photography (Goa-CAP) in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan and Media Foundation of India are organising an interactive discussion titled Print: Wanted Dead or Alive! on 06th September 2013 from 2-5 pm at the Max Mueller Bhavan, K. Dubash Marg, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai. The discussion will primarily be about the need for a periodic contemporary photography magazine in India and the possibilities and pitfalls for such a venture.

Unlike Western markets, the print medium is on an upswing in India. Rising disposable incomes and increasing literacy levels have led to a veritable explosion in the print media with innumerable periodicals and magazines having been launched in the past few years. Many of these magazines even cater to niche audiences. In spite of this rise in the number of magazines there are almost no periodic non-themed, widely distributed, photography magazines in India that specifically look at this field as an art form.

The Wanted discussion will be centred around whether such a magazine is possible under the present conditions. What are the best practices and potential pitfalls? What is the scope for collaboration among the photography community of India or even South Asia to support such an initiative? How can an audience be built? What are the lessons to be learnt from previous similar attempts? What can be learnt from success stories from among the generalist art, themed photography magazines or even mainstream media magazines? What are the opportunities for seed funding? Will a non-profit approach work?

Mr. Madhavan Pillai, Chief Editor, Better Photography; Mr. Abhay Sardesai, Editor, Art India; Ms. Bina Sarkar, Founder, Editor, Designer and Publisher of International Gallerie and Mr. Fawzan Hussain, Photojournalist will lead the discussion by sharing their experiences, which will be followed by an open discussion thereafter. The event is open to all.

Speaking about the motivation behind the event Anil Cherukupalli, Founder of Aksgar said, "We want to collate and compile the experiences and ideas that will come from the invited speakers as well as from the resulting discussion. Our ultimate hope is that this will translate into the production of a self-sustaining periodic photography magazine that will highlight important narrative photography work coming out of India and South Asia."

"The upward trend in contemporary photography in India defines a need for a photography magazine that gives prime space to a photographer's work and also initiates critical dialogues about historical and contemporary photography's practitioners and processes," added P. Madhavan, Executive Director, Goa-CAP.
This event is part of the WANTED SERIES | Conversations on Photography (www.wantedseries.com), an interaction conceived and organised by Goa Center for Alternative Photography (Goa-CAP) and Aksgar in collaboration with Goethe-Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan, where prominent editors, curators and publishers from the art, photography and media world discuss critical issues on photography in an informal setting. This is a discussion series, which travels to different cities in India.

For further information:

P. Madhavan, Goa-CAP, 096890 41602, madhavan@goa-cap.org

Anil Cherukupalli, Aksgar, 099998 33440, anil@aksgar.com
Goethe-Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan, 022 22027710

Satish Nandgaonkar, Media Foundation of India, 098209 42662, satishnandgaonkar@gmail.com

Notes to Editors
Goethe-Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan (http://www.goethe.de/ins/in/lp/enindex.htm) is the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. It promotes knowledge of the German language abroad and fosters international cultural cooperation. It conveys a comprehensive picture of Germany by providing information on Germany's cultural, social and political life.

Goa Center for Alternative Photography (Goa-CAP) is the only organization in Asia region which experiments and practices alternative photography. Goa-CAP is also committed to providing an ecosystem for research as well as R&D leadership in photography. www.goa-cap.com

Aksgar (www.aksgar.com) features compelling narrative photography projects from India and beyond. It was founded in September 2009.

Media Foundation of India (http://mfi.org.in) is an independent platform to organise media-related activities that could extend beyond mere journalistic endeavours to promote a knowledge exchange on wide-ranging contemporary issues.