Human Power: Art for Social Change

Paolo Regis was born in Vercelli (Italy) in 1979. On receiving his Diploma at I.T.G. he went on to studying Photography and Visual Communication at the famous CFP Bauer School in Milano. Paolo has worked with the biggest brands and publications in European fashion, publishing his work in noted international fashion magazines such as Vogue Italia, Maxim, Anglomania and All Access Magazine amongst others, while shooting celebrities such as Sienna Miller, Grace Jones, Naomi Campbell, Giorgio Armani, Vivienne Westwood and many others. Now based between Milan, London and New York, Paolo Regis has worked for clients like Phillips, BRW & Red Bull and high profile fashion clients such as Dsquared, Preview, Diesel, Melting Pot, Guess. His continuous interest in the potential of photography as a medium of artistic expression inspired him to work in fashion photography as well as portrait and landscape, exploring the many aspects of our modern society. While travelling countries such as India, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Emirates, Africa, the US or Brazil and Japan, he continuously developed his photographic style. He is also currently the official photographer for His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

Astad Deboo name is synonymous with Contemporary Indian Dance , a style that he pioneered at a time when innovations in Indian Dance were not welcome. Astad describes his style as contemporary in vocabulary and traditional in restraints. His dance training in Kathak and Kathakali and his studies in the USA, UK, Germany, Japan and Indonesia have resulted in a technique which is very much his own. Hi signature style is characterized by intense focus, concentration and technical virtuosity, along with distinctively Indian aesthetic of evoking the Rasa. Astad’s 47 years career has taken him to 70 countries . He has been mentored by the great choreographers of contemporary dance Pina Bausch , Alsion Chase and his gurus Prahlad Das and E.Krishna Pannicker. He has also performed with Pink Floyd for a fund raiser, has been commissioned by Pierre Cardin and has worked with Bollywood directors Mani Ratnam, Vishal Bharadwaj and the legendary painter M.F. Hussain. He was bestowed an award for creative dance by Sangeet Natak Akademi, the major arts organization of the Govt of India, andPadma Shri by the Government of India recognizing him as the pioneer of Contemporary dance. His mentoring the deaf students, the street children of Salaam Balaak Trust New Delhi, for the last 27 years, and his on going work with the traditional performing art of Manipur has been remarkable.

Jeroo Mulla: Professor Jeroo Mulla has been the Head of the Department of the Social Communications Media department at the Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai and has been teaching photography and film appreciation for over thirty years. She has served as a jury member for the 57th National Film Awards, and is currently on the Advisory Board of Women in Film and Television (WIFT), Mumbai Chapter launched in 2012. She was appointed to the Film Censor Board as an Advisory Panel member in 1987. Jeroo was honoured in 2007 with a Fellowship and a Gold Medal by the Association of Business Communicators of India in recognition of her long and distinguished career in communication practice, the only woman to be so honoured in the ten awardees from all over India. She has spoken at various public platforms including at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), National Centre of Performing Arts NCPA, Max Mueller Bhavan and at the FICCI Global Convention (2002).