The Confluence Collective (TCC) was born out of a deep-rooted conviction to curate a space to preserve, archive and retell the histories of the Darjeeling - Sikkim Himalayan region. We are a group of individual researchers and artistes, working together to create a collective space that has eventually taken the form of a Collective. As the TCC, we want to preserve our ancestral histories and in doing so curate localised archives of the place and community that makes up the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas. The Darjeeling - Sikkim Himalayas has been in the heart of British Colonialism and continue to live with the consequences of this colonial history. Any effort at decolonising must begin with the recognition of this reality. Our histories have always been written for and we have always been ‘represented’, often distorting our stories and realities with cultural, historical, social political and legal consequences. Our vision for the Collective is to collectively re-imagine the hill societies- the people, community, and the region through the stories from the place- that offer new ways of ‘seeing’ and ‘imagining’ the place.
MEET THE TEAM
Mridu Thulung Rai
Mridu Rai is a cultural practitioner working to develop critical and creative methodologies in visual culture. She is currently a PhD scholar in Anthropology at the University College London (UCL). She has curated the Zubaan-Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Through Her Lens programme. She is the recipient of the Critical Collective - PhotoSouthAsia Young Writers Award (2021) for lens-based practices. The Royal Anthropological Institute, London has hosted her exhibition titled How Do I Bring You Home? which explores decolonizing methodologies of engaging with a colonial archive.
Dipti Tamang
She is currently employed as a full-time faculty in Government General Degree College at Pedong. She holds a PhD in International Studies from J.N.U and is also an awardee of the Nehru-Fulbright post- doctoral grant (2020- 2021) completing her post-doctoral research at Cornell University, New York. She is a former recipient of the Zuban-Sasakawa Peace foundation grant (2019). Her areas of interests are gender, identity, culture, and politics with focus on the Darjeeling Himalayas. She has published widely in reputed journals and writes regularly in different web outlets.
Praveen Chettri
Photographer based out of Kalimpong, West Bengal. He worked as in-house photographer for Numero-French fashion magazine in Bangkok, Thailand. Having worked on numerous photo projects in Darjeeling hills and Sikkim, Praveen has been involved in several initiatives to educate and bring awareness on pertinent issues relating to Darjeeling hills and Sikkim through the medium of art.
Kunga Tashi Lepcha
An independent photographer based out of Gangtok, Sikkim. His personal work mostly revolves around the notions of space, identity and memories. In 2019, he received the Amiyaprabha Chaudhuri Memorial Grant from Egaro Photo Festival for his project ‘Days Of Summer’. He was part of the 2018 Angkor Photo Workshop/Festival, Cambodia. In 2016, he was part of the Project Denjong team, which carried out the digitisation, preservation and cataloguing of old documents and photographs of the 'Sikkim Palace Archives' (1875-1975) under the British Library’s Endangered Archive Programme and Arcadia.
www.kungatashi.com
Brihat Rai
Brihat Rai (b. 1998) is a photographer based out of Kalimpong, India.
He uses photography as a medium to explore personal narratives and understand how they fit into the larger context of the society. He is an alumnus of Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Bangladesh and has a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of North Bengal.
He is currently working with the Eastern Himalayan Foundation as a Communications Consultant.
Yawan Rai
Yawan Rai is a freelance photographer from Gangtok, Sikkim. He completed his Photography Diploma course in 2014 from Delhi and returned home to practice photography both as a profession and hobby. Apart from commercial and commissioned photography work, his work mostly focuses on documenting the stories and ritual practices of the eastern Himalayan indigenous Kirat communities guided by their oral and written narratives, including his own (Dumi Rai).
His visual-artistic practice involves not just taking photos on the field, but also learning the slow art of printmaking, which he feels is an integral part of his process. He also runs a fine art printing studio called Studio Tetteluna in Gangtok, which he started in 2019. The word Tetteluna, that translates to slowness in the Dumi Rai language, guides his artistic practice.
Ashwin Sharma
Ashwin Sharma is a photographer based out of Kalimpong, India. He has worked as a Citizen Journalist with Youth Ki Awaaz but his primary interest lies in Photography and Film Making. He has been awarded the Citizen Journalism Youth Media Award in 2020, Stories from Within Photography Grant supported by India Foundation for Arts in 2021 and is also a co-winner of Toto Photography Awards in 2023.
Shivam Darnal
Freelance photographer based out of Darjeeling and works as an assistant teacher at the Municipal Boys’ High School, Darjeeling. He uses photography as a medium to express and tell stories.