Shutterbugs as bookworms

This radical concept—a brainchild of photographers Chandan Gomes,Vicky Roy and Vikrum Muldiar and writer Jyotsana Tripathi—convinces with its simple logic not only photography enthusiasts but accomplished photographers as well. “We wanted to come up with a collection of expensive photography books and make them accessible to those who otherwise will probably never get a chance to study them,” says Gomes. It has around 100 books,journals,art magazines,catalogues and academic literature,contributed by stalwarts such as Amit Mehra,Dayanita Singh,Dinesh Khanna,Raghu Rai and Ram Rahman,and local galleries—they even bought a few from their own pockets.

The idea hit Gomes,a St Stephen’s graduate,when he wanted to read Myself Mona Ahmed by Dayanita Singh but couldn’t afford to buy it. He started reading it last year at various galleries and finally finished it this year at IHC’s Photo Festival,where he also won the India Habitat Centre Fellowship for Photography ’11. “The four of us were all in the place where we realised that some of these books are not accessible. At the festival,I saw that there were others like us who were going through the same thing. At a small book stall,a lot of young people would read books but couldn’t complete it. That’s what triggered the idea,” said Gomes.

Affiliation with eminent photographers does not stop at mere contribution. “We wanted to ensure a space where we can interact with senior artists in an informal,less-intimidating setting to somehow democratise the practice and study of photography,” said Gomes. Delhi-based photographer Dayanita Singh,who is a keen follower of Rang,has not only contributed all of her works but also attends sessions. “I think The Open Library is a brilliant concept and one that every artist must support. How else could people sitting on Assi Ghat (in Varanasi,where their first workshop was held) be able to see my ‘Privacy’ portraits? It will create new audiences for our work,” she said.

People have gone out of their way to help them. Dinesh Khanna gave his own expensive titles. Amitabh Bhattacharya gave archival books dating back to 1920s and 40s. “Parting with such a collection takes a lot of heart,” said Gomes,who himself is a promising artist. Photographs from his award-winning essay ‘Elegy for the Unsung Cubicle’ were a part of the Delhi Photo Festival ’11. Just 23 years old,he has already exhibited with artists such as Raghu Rai and Prashant Panjiar. A Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award nominee,he spends a part of his time conducting photography workshops in various resettlement colonies/villages in and around Delhi.

Rang is full of ideas to democratise the art space. “We are also conceptualising ‘The House of Nonsense’ through which individuals,who cannot afford to exhibit their works,can do so and we try to take care of the expenditure in terms of printing and other logistics. In addition,we will have works of some senior artists in the same space,to sort of break the elitist barrier.”

Self-funded for the time being,Rang has an open membership and anyone can contribute through photography,writings,and logistics. Their next big move is to take the library to Jaipur Literary Festival,and from there to the surrounding villages. “A book can travel far and wide and touch many. If you do not share your works,you’re defeating the whole purpose of indulging in art,” says Gomes.