KATHMANDU, Oct 14: A month-long photography festival, ‘Photo Kathmandu’ organized by photo.cirlce, started this Friday. Patan and Kathmandu have been selected as the venues for the third edition of the photo exhibition. The fair is especially focused toward social issues such as gender, power, identity, patriarchy, and sexuality. 

Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizen, Tham Maya Thapa, inaugurated the festival consisting of 14  print exhibitions, 4 slideshow nights, 17 artist talk and panel discussions, 8 workshops, and a mixed-media residency. The festival is also scheduled to host the first edition of South Asia Incubator.

Over 60 photographers, curators, editors, writers, and art practitioners from over 20 countries are participating in the festival. The organizer estimates half a million visitors in both venues. 

 The print exhibitions, divided into two phases, feature works of local and international artists. The first phase, held on Friday, featured ‘The Lighting Testimonies’ by Amar Kanwar, ‘The Public Life of Women: A Feminist Memory Project’ co-curated by Diwas Raja KC and Nayan Tara Gurung Kakshapapi, ‘Magnificently Insane: Hippie Kathmandu’ co-curated by Lucia De Vries and Prasiit Sthapit, and many more. The second phase will start on October 26.  

The festival is slated to continue till November 16.