Copyright © Subhrajit Sen
In times such as ours, journalists, photographers, and artists are vital to put the trials of the world in front of us, so that we cannot simply step over them or avert our eyes. Solutions can be discussed and strategies formulated when problems are acknowledged. In 2018, the MurthyNAYAK Foundation, formed a relationship with the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication (SACAC) to create and fund a grant to be awarded to an Indian photographer working on a socially relevant theme. The funds are to help further an ongoing body of work.
Following serious and lengthy deliberation, the 2018 jury selected from among approximately fifty entrants, and awarded the inaugural Social Documentary Photography Grant to Subhrajit Sen, a student of documentary photography. Not yet 25 years of age at the time, the photographer was able to pursue his rigorous work on the condition of the most vulnerable inhabitants of Jadugoda, in Purbi (East) Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Contamination from uranium mining has created dire conditions in the region for half a century. It has led to cancer, tuberculosis, miscarriages, and other suffering. Subharajit Sen’s work can be seen at the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI).
Collaboration between the MurthyNAYAK Foundation and SACAC proved to be successful and productive, and led to future and ongoing projects.
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20 November
