From Ayodhya – In the Eye of the Storm – Photograph © Prashant Panjiar
Prashant Panjiar (b.1957) is a self-taught photographer and has worked as a photojournalist and editor in mainstream media at Patriot newspaper (1984-1986), India Today (1986-1995), and the Outlook Group of Publications (1995-2001). Since 2001, Panjiar has been working independently as a photographer specializing in reportage, editorial and documentary photography, a photo editor, and curator.
As an independent photojournalist, Panjiar has worked on stories for leading international and national publications such as Time Magazine, Focus, New York Times, and others. As a documentary photographer, he works on issues of health, education, and livelihood across Asia and Africa for international nonprofit organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, American India Foundation, UNFPA, IPPF & HIV-AIDS Alliance.
Panjiar has led the curatorial teams of all three editions of the Delhi Photo Festival, of which he is co-founder and co-creative director. He is also responsible for the publication of the Nazar Photography Monographs series for Nazar Foundation, of which he is the co-founder and managing trustee.
In 2014, as Creative Director he curated, and helped conceive the first edition of Sensorium – a festival of arts, literature and ideas for Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for the Arts. In 2015, Panjiar curated a permanent collection of contemporary photography for the new corporate building of Star TV India, in Mumbai. He was the photography curator for the first two editions of the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa, 2016 and 2017. He was the project curator for Kanu’s Gandhi, the third title in the Nazar Photography Monographs series, and of the resulting exhibition, that has been on tour since 2015.
Panjiar has served on the jury of the World Press Photo Awards, the China International Press Photo Competition, Indian Express Press Photo Awards, and the National Foundation of India’s annual photography fellowship.
As one of India’s leading photo-practitioners, Panjiar is actively involved in mentoring younger photographers. This bio was provided by the artist. A more comprehensive profile will be forthcoming.
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King, Commoner, Citizen, INDIAPICTURE, 2007, ISBN: 10-8190460706
AIDS Sutra: Untold Stories from India with an Introduction by Bill and Melinda Gates, Vintage Books, USA, 2008, ISBN: 10-0099526581
The Music Stopped, but We're Still Dancing, was a 2017 photo exhibition of Goan jazz musicians, which was curated by Panjiar for the Serendipity Arts Festival, in Panaji, Goa.
TEDx Talk: Photography - A Reflection of Life
July 31, 2017
