Women Changing India: A BNP Paribas project

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On Wednesday 25 May at 7 pm, the Women Changing India exhibition sponsored by BNP Paribas in collaboration with Magnum Photos will be inaugurated at Fondazione Forma per la Fotografia in Milan.

The Women Changing India project is an initiative launched by the BNP Paribas banking group to commemorate the 150 years it has operated in the country. During 2010 the exhibition toured five Indian cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Chennai and Calcutta. In 2011 BNP Paribas is bringing the exhibition to Europe, first in Milan, and subsequently London, Brussels and Paris.

This exhibition features more than 130 pictures taken by 6 photographers of the Magnum agency. Their assignment was to photograph, in its various forms, the strength of Indian women who are able to change and transform the country.

Olivia Arthur, Martine Franck, Raghu Rai, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Alex Webb and Patrick Zachmann have photographed committed women who are determined to fulfil their potential. Their pictures give us an unprecedented vision of Indian society. These portraits show self-aware and proud women who are not daunted by the obvious difficulties resulting from the path they have chosen.

For too many years, Indian women were caught in a vicious circle, made up of cultural, religious and economic obstacles. It is starting to break down in a slow but inexorable trend as the photos of our exhibition show. A noteworthy point is that this process is not restricted to the wealthiest and most Westernized levels of society but is reaching all women in the Indian continent.

A starting-point can be found in education. In her photos of the young generation, taken in Bangalore and Misore, Olivia Arthur (Imaging a different future) proves that women can now be students in cutting-edge research centres that only men previously could enrol in, while, in a totally different field, women can fulfil their potential by becoming artists, DJs or musicians.

Certainly, being able to study has enabled some women to hold important and prestigious positions: entrepreneurs, CEOs, writers and activists who have become true home grown icons for Indian society. Raghu Rai (The heart of India) has met them, and after overcoming the initial problems facing someone who usually focuses on street photography, he adapted to the demands of the subjects he was photographing. As a result, he shot photos full of admiration for these women, highlighting their proud and energetic expression.

Patrick Zachmann (Empowerment at the grassroots) met another kind of women in power. Since 1992, pursuant to an amendment to the constitution, 33% of seats of panchayats, the local assemblies that administer villages, must be held by women. Zachmann's pictures show them hard at work administering their community and, at the same time, dedicated to carrying out their family and professional chores.

The change in women's status and their social position is a process that involves major transformations but, by consequence, also problems and obstacles to be overcome, above all in the country's poorest areas. Women need to be aware of their rights in order to safeguard their private and social independence. Martine Franck (Banking on ourselves) has illustrated the huge work carried out by some associations, such as KMVS and SEWA, which have set up a network providing information and support for female workers. Using microcredit projects, they have created new job opportunities, offering women the possibility to manage directly their household budgets.

In addition to the right to study, the right to work also plays a fundamental role in this metamorphosis. In the Western world, a woman driver is no longer a source of amazement, but for a long time seeing women move into jobs that were traditionally the exclusive preserve of men was a cultural shock. Alex Webb (Women driving change) met women in Mumbai and Delhi who have managed to find work as taxi drivers and security agents: their jobs are reserved for women but their clients are exclusively other women.

Bollywood films are famous throughout the world, but the approach drawn upon by Alessandra Sanguinetti (Behind the scene) shows a different aspect: women no longer are only actresses but have now also become key players in the film industry. A woman is one of the country's most successful directors and women are also sound engineers, heads of casting and cameramen. Alessandra's photos convey her respect for these women and the professional manner in which they tackle their work.

The exhibition is accompanied by videos. Listening to the voices of the photographers and their subjects enhances our perception of the exhibition.

This project and this exhibition therefore seek to show up widespread tired clichés and present the face of the new and constantly changing India.
Indian women have the power to change their country and that is what they are doing.

"India's future is growing in the hands of women."
-Martine Franck


Women Changing India
From May 26th to June 19th 2011
Every day from 10 am to 8 pm
Thursdays and Fridays open until 10 pm. Closed on Mondays
Tickets: 7.50 euros Reductions 6 euros Schools 4 euros
Info: 02 58118067


Fondazione FORMA per la Fotografia, founded by Contrasto, collaborates with Corriere della Sera and ATM that hosts FORMA inside the historical trolley bus depot of Ticinese.
FORMA also avails itself of the precious participation of Canon Italia and of the support of Coop and Fastweb.

Fondazione Forma per la Fotografia
Milano, Piazza Tito Lucrezio Caro, 1
www.formafoto.it

About BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas is one of the strongest banks in the world*. The Group has a presence in more than 80 countries and more than 200,000 employees, including more than 160,000 in Europe. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Europe, the Group has four domestic markets (Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated retail banking model across the Europe-Mediterranean zone and boasts a large network in the western part of the United States. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia.
* Rated AA by Standard & Poor's i.e. 3rd rating level on a scale of 22.

BNL, established in 1913, is one of Italy's main banking groups and one of the best-known brands in Italy. The Bank, with more than 950 outlets in Italy, between branches and banking centres, offers a broad range of banking, finance and insurance products and services, ranging from the more traditional to the most innovative, to satisfy its customers' many requirements (private individuals and families, companies, Public Administration and government agencies).