SANDESH is the first photography festival ever to shed light on Transgender Life from around the world. It aims to open minds about the transgender community within the Indian society as well as the global society at large.
Discussion of the trans experience and transgender rights is entering mainstream discourse more than ever in India. Despite the surge in media attention and growing acceptance of transgender identities, systemic and social-cultural barriers remain firm along with the lack of sensitivity around this issue.
The passage of the Transgender Rights Bill of 2016 in India helped to start the conversation about transgender acceptance in India, but social and legal acceptance is still bleak at best. The de-criminalization of homosexuality in India and passage of laws such as the Transgender Rights Bill of 2016 have given the LGBT community new rights, but the community still struggles for acceptance.
The five-day long photography festival which will happen in Dehradun and then travel to Chandigarh, will showcase the works of photography masters like Mark Seliger(known for his portrait series of President Obama), Mariette Pathy Alan (who has been documenting transgenders for more than 35 years all over the world) and many others, capturing the daily lives of transgender people through stunning photography, book exhibitions and documentaries from more than 30 countries, displayed in an intimate setting.
SANDESH is an honest endeavor to celebrate the beauty and diversity of the transgender community.
Date: 26th - 30th April
Locations in Dehradun, Uttarakhand
1. Gallery space at Pondha
2. The Tea Room at Alaya
3. R.K Memorial School for underprivileged
4. Siddhartha Law College
5. Mahatma Khushi Ram Public Library