India 2025 | Exhibitions & Encounters
Muriel Pénicaud's photographic year of 2025 began in India. Between exhibitions, conferences, and new projects, this start to the year has been marked by inspiring encounters and memorable experiences.
Muriel Pénicaud presented her work at two venues in Pondicherry. The first exhibition, Wind into the Roots, was held at The Spot. This event gave rise to enriching exchanges with the public. A big thank you to Ségiyane Paquiry for her warm welcome.
The second exhibition, Deep Heights, was presented at the Kalinka Gallery and received very positive feedback from visitors. A book signing was held on January 20 from 5 to 7 p.m., providing an opportunity for a lengthy discussion with journalist Dinesh Varma. Both exhibitions were curated by Karine Pelade, director of the gallery. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to her for curating and organizing these two exhibitions.
photo credit: black and white photos © James Vil, others © The Spot
These exhibitions also attracted media attention. Two articles were published in The Hindu, one of India's leading daily newspapers, written by Mr. Dinesh Varma (articles dated January 15and January 29). In this interview, Muriel Pénicaud shares her vision of photography as a universal language, capable of transcending cultural and geographical boundaries.
Alongside these exhibitions, Muriel Pénicaud continued her photographic exploration, immersing herself in several social initiatives:
In Pondicherry, Muriel Pénicaud met and photographed women micro-entrepreneurs supported bythe NGO Sharana. The association runs programs in several areas, including education, health, and social services. Its goal is to empower individuals by helping them recognize their own strengths so they can improve their lives. Many thanks to Rajkala Partha, founder of the NGO, and to Valérie Gaudard, who accompanied her on this visit.
Through the lens © Muriel Pénicaud
In Mumbai, with young photographer Nitya Manoj Kumar, she photographed the father-daughter bond as part of the Proud Fathers For Daughters, which contributes to the Nanhi Kali program launched by the Mahindra Foundation to promote girls' education and empowerment. Launched by Anand Mahindra and photographer Atul Kasbekar, this project aims to break stereotypes by promoting fathers as active supporters of their daughters' ambitions.
Now a symbol of hope and empowerment, Proud Fathers For Daughters has already produced 2,397 portraits illustrating these essential bonds. The funds raised have enabled the Nanhi Kali project to finance the education of more than 5,597 girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Generosity © Muriel Pénicaud
In the Araku Valley, located in Andhra Pradesh, she met and photographed Adivasi tribal women who grow coffee, as part of the rural, ecological, and social development project led by the Naandi Foundation, which Muriel has long supported.
For more than 20 years, this organization has been supporting Adivasi communities by developing an organic coffee supply chain, an educational support program, and an agroforestry project based on carbon finance. In partnership with the Livelihoods Carbon Fund, it has already planted six million trees, including three million coffee trees, and is now pursuing an ambitious program involving 40,000 farmers in the region.
These photographs will soon be on display in Araku cafés in Paris.
A heartfelt thank you to Manoj Kumar for welcoming us to Mumbai and Araku, as well as for his support and commitment to these meaningful initiatives.