The FotoFest Biennial in Houston is preparing what it describes as one of the largest exhibitions of contemporary photography by artists of Indian origin ever presented in the US. Today, the biennial announced the list of 48 artists who will participate in the biennial’s central show, which is due to open in March.

The exhibition promises to take visitors on a photographic journey through one of the most diverse, populous, and rapidly changing countries in the world. Lead curator Sunil Gupta and FotoFest executive director Steven Evans traveled throughout India and across the globe conducting portfolio reviews and face-to-face meetings with more than 100 artists to find the right group.

“The artists, all of Indian origin, are imagining and responding to what India means today in its myriad complexities, given its ancient culture and more recent emancipation from British colonialism,” lead curator Sunil Gupta said in a statement. The participants address a number of important issues facing contemporary India, he noted, including caste and class, gender, sexuality, religion, nationalism, and technological development.

Sunil Gupta, lead curator, FotoFest 2018 BIENNIAL. Photo: Charan Singh.

Some artists, such as Shilpa Gupta, have shown widely and will be familiar to international audiences. Many other photographers, however, will be exhibiting their work internationally for the first time.

Photographer Indu Antony (of Bangalore, India) explores issues of gender and sexuality in present-day India through her pictures of drag kings, while Asif Khan (Delhi, India) will present images documenting refugee camps and rehabilitation colonies. Max Kandhola (Birmingham, UK) will contribute new works examining racial dynamics and migration in England.

Over the years, FotoFest has developed a reputation for spotlighting international photographic traditions that have received comparatively little exposure in the US. Previous iterations of the biennial have highlighted Latin America (1992), Korea (2000), China (2008), and Russia (2012), and the Arab world (2014).

See the full list of artists for the 2018 edition below.

Indu Antony (Bangalore, India)
Pablo Bartholomew (Delhi, India)
Atul Bhalla (Delhi, India)
Mohini Chandra (Fiji/UK/Australia)
Sheba Chhachhi (Ethiopia/Delhi, India)
Serena Chopra (Delhi, India)
Tenzing Dakpa (Delhi, India)
Sarindar Dhaliwal (Canada/Mumbai, India)
Anita Dube (Delhi, India)
Gauri Gill (Delhi, India)
Chandan Gomes (Delhi, India)
Shilpa Gupta (Mumbai, India)
Shivani Gupta (Goa, India)
Vinit Gupta (Delhi, India)
Apoorva Guptay (Mumbai, India)
Abhishek Hazra (Bangalore, India)
Sohrab Hura (Delhi, India)
Manoj Kumar Jain (Delhi, India)
Samar Singh Jodha (Dubai, UAE)
Ranbir Kaleka (Delhi, India)
Rashmi Kaleka (Delhi, India)
Jitish Kallat (Mumbai, India)
Max Kandhola (Birmingham, UK)
Roshini Kempadoo (UK/Guyana)
Asif Khan (Delhi, India)
Anita Khemka and Imran B. Kokiloo (Delhi, India)
Sandip Kuriakose (Delhi, India)
Dhruv Malhotra (Delhi, India)
Arun Vijai Mathavan (Ahmedabad, India)
Annu Palakunnathu Matthew (UK/USA)
Uzma Mohsin (Delhi, India)
Nandini Valli Muthiah (Chennai, India)
Pushpamala N. (Bangalore, India)
Dileep Prakash (Delhi, India)
Ram Rahman (Delhi, India)
Raqs Media Collective (Delhi, India)
Anoop Ray (Delhi, India)
Vicky Roy (Delhi, India)
Vidisha Saini (Delhi, India)
Hemant Sareen (Delhi, India)
Gigi Scaria (Delhi, India)
Mithu Sen (Delhi, India)
Rishi Singhal (Gandhinagar, India)
Leila Sujir (Montréal, Canada)
Ishan Tankha (Delhi, India)
Prince Varughese Thomas (Houston, USA)
Anusha Yadav (Mumbai, India)

The FotoFest Biennial, titled “INDIA: Contemporary Photographic and New Media Art,” runs from March 10–April 22, 2018.