Where photos pose a question to the education system

Nagpur: An exhibition of photographs exploring the interconnected and multi-layered visual narratives of academic spaces in Nagpur got under way at department of fine arts, Gurunanak Bhavan, Nagpur University on Sunday.Curated by Sudharak Olwe and christened ‘Through the Lens Lighting the Light’, the exhibition aimed at promoting creativity of students. Put on display were the thought-provoking photographs clicked by faculty and students of various colleges and universities of Maharashtra. The exhibition was inaugurated pro-vice-chancellor of NU Sanjay Dudhe, who appreciated the painstaking efforts of the participants and organizers. Padma Shri Sudharak Olwe, the main resource person of the workshop, said, “The purpose of the workshop was to help students and faculty use photography as a medium to question the system through their pictorial documentation of higher education to bring about a positive change.”In the seven-day unique workshop, co-hosted by Sudharak Olwe Photography Promotion Trust, participants learnt how to create a story and narrate it through photographs.Pratik Damal, administrator of Maharashtra State Faculty Development Academy, said, “Motto of the workshop was pedagogy and how to introduce photography as an instrument in teaching. It attracted 26 participants from 15 districts of Maharashtra.”One of the participants Dr Sonal Singh, a student of Tirpude College of Photography, said that she was participating for the first time in such a workshop and is very happy to see her photograph ‘Abhisekh’ exhibited in it. Nitin Marashkhole, another participant, had clicked a photograph using slow shutter speed to show the anxiety and tension the students experience when results are declared.Prof Yash Alone, head of the arts and aesthetic department of Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Amrit Gangar, film historian from Mumbai, also guided the participants.Those who toiled for the success of the workshop-exhibition are: Shekhar Soni, Nirman, Riya, Sapna Khandare and Kalpana Waghade. Both Sapna and Kalpana, employed in the housekeeping department, judged the one-minute short films made by participants of the workshop. We also published the following articles recently