New Delhi, Curator and author Rahaab Allana was conferred with the insignia of Officier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres at the Embassy of France here on Tuesday.
The French government distinction is given to “persons who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the field of art, culture and literature or for their contribution to the influence of arts in France and throughout the world.”
Allana, curator and publisher, Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, received the honour for his career as curator of contemporary South Asian photography as well as his contributions to Indo-French artistic cooperation over the years.
“We feel very lucky to have longstanding partners like Rahaab Allana who have such a deep and sincere interest in French visual art history. Each exhibition or publication we have collaborated on was an opportunity to create unprecedented parallels between lens-based practitioners from both France and India.
“For almost 20 years, the curatorial work of Rahaab has truly helped France and India to learn from each other and change our perceptions,” Thierry Mathou, the Ambassador of France to India, said in a statement.
Allana’s artistic journey of cooperation with France spans two decades, starting with the exhibition of the Alkazi Collection at the Arles Photo Festival in 2007.
Since then, Allana has played an instrumental role in driving Indo-French projects around lens-based art, including the curation of two multi-disciplinary photography exhibitions for Bonjour India festivals, Mutations in 2018, and Convergence in 2022.
“It is an honour to receive this commendation from the French Government for the many partnerships and collaborations that have been consistently realised between India and France over the last two decades. This recognition is one that highlights the many visible and invisible partners and cultural workers who strive to create a greater freedom for expression at this critical time,” Allana said.
In 2022, Allana also co-curated ‘Terra Nullius: Nobody’s Land’ at Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa, showcasing eight French artists working with Artificial Intelligence around ecology and non-human image making.
Allana has also contributed to and edited several publications and curated exhibitions on South Asian photography and its trans-national histories, working internationally with museums, universities, festivals and other arts institutions across the world, including the Rencontres d’Arles, Musée du Quai Branly, Centre National des Arts Plastiques in France.
Some noted Indian recipients of this honour in the past include Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Raghu Rai, Ebrahim Alkazi, Habib Tanveer, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and Upamanyu Chatterjee.
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