jaipur creating a brand identity through festivals is not new but in a first of its kind jaipur would host an international photography festival wherein most exhibitions and installations would be outdoors at public venues the travel photo jaipur devoted to travel photography is a unique initiative of rajasthan government to pitch jaipur on the global travel map and expand the citys role as a cultural destination the festival which is being facilitated by the state tourism department will showcase innovative and compelling works of celebrated photographers the objective is to place jaipur firmly on the circuit of international photography festivals and to enhance jaipurs ability to promote cultural tourism the festival will involve nationally and internationally renowned curators photographers critics and other personalities from the photo industry and give the denizens of jaipur a chance to themselves become observers through the lens of other travel photographers said nikhil padgaonkar producer travel photo jaipur to be an annual event the festival will showcase works by celebrated photographers and the exhibitions will be complemented with a series of activities during the first weekend of february 2016 the activities include include talks panel discussions and screenings said padgaonkar and to name a few among those who have confirmed participation are mexicos greatest living photographer graciela iturbide mauro bedoni italy laurent chehere france xiao xiao hu china and thomas seelig of the winterthur museum switzerland the festival wont be confined to a single venue it will have displays and exhibitions taking place outdoors at public venues especially at heritage sites the images will be printed in large format the idea is to expose contemporary photography to the public without requiring people to enter closed or private spaces such as museums galleries which may prove inhibiting the festival will highlight how sites of historic importance hawa mahal albert hall museum etc can also be given a contemporary purpose we expect that the photography festival will have the same appeal for lovers of photography across the globe as jaipur literature festival has for lovers of literature the potential is enormous as photography is a far more accessible medium than literature is said padgaonkar during the festival a photomarathon will also be organised which would involve the denizens and tourists the idea would be to propose a route encompassing the festival venues that would highlight the heritage of the city the participants would be asked to take photos along the route and later upload those on instagram he said