Samyukta Lakshmi is a documentary photographer and photojournalist based in Bangalore, India. Her work focuses on vulnerable communities, social inequality, the human spirit, resilience and climate change. She is a graduate of the Documentary and Photojournalism program at the International Center of Photography, New York. Her work has been published in the The New York Times, Der Spiegel, BBC, Bloomberg News, Washington Post, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review Magazine, Nature.com, Quartz, Business Insider USA, Refinery29, British Journal of Photography, Caravan, Nrc.nl, Grazia, Yahoo Finance, Deccan Herald. She has also worked for Sight Savers UK, Comic Relief, UNIS (United Nations International School), PROOF: Media for Social Justice, Airbnb, Instagram, Intel, Blue Card, BMW Foundation, and Happy Camera Club. She has been exhibited both in India and internationally. She is a member of Woman Photograph, Diversify Photo and Authority collective.
Exhibitions-
- Jamii- Contact Photography Festival, Toronto, 2021
- Resilience- Hyderabad Centre for Photography, India, 2020
- People and Place, Flow Photo Fest, Scotland, 2017
- Screening of Taxi, JAPF, Varanasi 2016
- Unearthed: Stories of Courage in the Face of Sexual Violence in India/ The Rape in India Project, The India Habitat Center, New Delhi 2015
- Screening of Taxi, Documentary Arts Asia Gallery, F/28 Festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand 2015
- Elective Affinities, The International Center of Photography, New York 2014
- Magnum Mentorship show, Singapore International Photography Festival, The Art house, Singapore 2012
- Healing begins in the Garden- Open Show, Bangalore 2011
- Picturing Power and Potential, SFAC Gallery, San Francisco 2010
- Group Show- The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts, Paros Greece 2008
- Expressions – Time and Space Art Gallery, Bangalore, India 2008
Awards/Scholarship -
- Honorable Mention, Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award 2019
- Winner, Flow Photofest Open Competition 2017
- Honorable Mention, Moscow International Foto Awards 2014
- Selected Participant for the Magnum Mentorship Program with Jacob Aue Sobol in collaboration with The Singapore International Photo Festival, Singapore 2012
- John Van Buren Endowment Scholarship 2008
Talks-
- Speaker at City Scripts on Documenting our lives and cities during COVID-19 2021
- Artist Talk at The Aegean Center for the Fine Arts, Italy, 2017
- Open Show, Bangalore 2011
Education-
- The International Center of Photography, New York 2014 One Year Documentary and Photojournalism Program
- Maine Media Workshops, Rockport, Maine 2010 Photography Residency
- The Aegean Center for The Fine Arts, Greece/ Italy 2008 Black and White Silver Photography, Digital Photography, Art of the Italian Renaissance, Classical Art and Literature, and Basic Drawing
- M.P Birla Institute of Management, Bangalore, India 2004 MBA