The Story
OrganizerEach winter, Hyderabad becomes the centre of photography in India as the Indian Photography Festival takes over the State Gallery of Art in Madhapur and venues across the city. Free and open to all, and now the longest-running international photography festival in the country, IPF has, since its first edition in 2015, grown from a promising newcomer into an established rite of the Indian cultural year.
The festival is a not-for-profit initiative of the Light Craft Foundation, conceived and directed by the photographer Aquin Mathews, with a clear dual mission: to showcase the best of photography from India and around the world, and to use the medium to address social issues and provoke reflection on history, society and the human condition. It has grown rapidly in scale and reach; by its fourth edition in 2018 it was presenting some 550 photographers from 52 nations, and its 2022 edition featured 420 artists from 45 countries, drawing seasoned professionals and emerging photographers alike from across India and the globe.
What sets IPF apart is the breadth of its programme. Beyond its many exhibitions, it runs a dense calendar of talks and discussions, workshops led by internationally renowned photographers, portfolio reviews, screenings and book launches, turning the festival into both a public celebration and a working platform for photographers. Two strands anchor its support for new talent: the Open Call for Emerging Photographers, which gives young and upcoming photographers a place on the festival walls, and the Indian Photo Festival Portrait Prize for photographers from the Indian subcontinent. The festival reports having facilitated grants of over twenty million rupees through its partners. Its 11th edition ran from November 2025 into early January 2026, and its 12th edition is confirmed for 26 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, underlining its role as a sustained, ambitious home for photography in India.
IPF's significance lies in having built, and sustained, a serious national and international platform for photography in India, a medium that had long lacked one at this scale. By pairing exhibitions of leading Indian and world photographers with a rigorous programme of workshops, portfolio reviews and talks, it functions as both showcase and school, nurturing an ecosystem of photographers rather than merely displaying finished work. Its Open Call and Portrait Prize deliberately elevate emerging and subcontinental talent, and its social-issues orientation positions photography as a tool for reflection and change, not just aesthetics. As the country's longest-running photo festival, it has become the reference point for the medium in India and a key connector between Indian photography and the international scene.
As photography's role in art, journalism and public life keeps expanding, IPF matters as India's flagship gathering for the medium and as a sustained engine for developing photographers. Its free, open model keeps world-class photography accessible to a broad public, while its grants, prizes and open calls channel real support to emerging artists. Its longevity and growth, from a first edition in 2015 to a confirmed twelfth in 2026, demonstrate a rare durability among Indian cultural festivals. For the Atlas, IPF is a central node in mapping visual-arts culture and the creative economy in India.
