Moving Still: Performative Photography in India explores themes of migration, gender, religion and national identity through the lens of modern and contemporary photography in India. While exploring the early beginnings of photography in India with works from Ram Singh II and Umrao Singh Sher-Gil, the primary focus of this publication is the lens-based practices of contemporary artists such as Naveen Kishore, Atul Bhalla, Tejal Shah, Vivan Sundaram, Sunil Gupta, Anita Dube and Pushpamala N. Artists rooted in the diversity of cultures and multiplicity within the country, while at the same time engaged in a global dialogue. The publication will include profiles on each of the participating artists, a timeline on the history of performative photography compiled by Critical Collective, as well as feature essays by Diana Freundl, Associate Curator, Asian Art at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and Gayatri Sinha, art critic and curator, that together expand on the historical importance and relevance of photography as an artistic medium in India as well as the development of performative photography.

Diana Freundl's profile page

Gayatri Sinha's profile page

Critical Collective's profile page

Diana Freundl: Diana Freundl is Associate Curator, Asian Art at the Vancouver Art Gallery. She is the curator of the Gallery's public art space, Offsite, presenting an innovating program of temporary contemporary art projects.

Gayatri Sinha: Gayatri Sinha is a New Delhi-based art critic and curator interested in issues of gender and iconography, media, economics and social history within the realms of contemporary art, photography and lens-based work. Critical Collective: Founded in 2011, Critical Collective is an initiative that works towards building knowledge in the arts in India through the domains of art writing, curating and practice.