The BNP Paribas banking group, in collaboration with Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, is bringing their global “Women Changing India” exhibition to Bahrain for the first time. The exhibition will be on display and open for public viewing at Bahrain National Museum from 12th to 21st December 2017.
The Women Changing India exhibition is an initiative that was launched by BNP Paribas to commemorate the 150-year anniversary of its operations in India. In 2010 the exhibition was hosted in many cities in India including Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, Chennai and Kolkata. Since then it has toured throughout the world visiting cities such as Paris, London, Brussels, Stuttgart, San Francisco, Milan, Tokyo and Johannesburg to name just a few.
The exhibition combines the talents of Magnum Photo Agency and Zubaan, a Delhi-based publishing house specialising in books for and about women in South Asia. The “Women Changing India” book maps some of the change that is both visible and invisible in India today. It covers stories of individual women who are making their mark in their communities.
Jacques Michel, Head of BNP Paribas Middle East & Africa; “We are delighted to bring the Women Changing India exhibition to Bahrain which marks the final destination of its 7–year long world-wide tour. As the bank for a changing world we celebrate change, especially where we find that it has a positive transforming effect on society and people’s lives. It is for this reason that we commissioned this photography exhibition which helps to illustrate how India is changing and how women are at the very heart of this change’
As part of the official opening day of the exhibition, BNP Paribas, in collaboration with the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, will host a panel discussion on the topic of ‘Women Changing Bahrain’ – which aligns strongly with the core theme of the exhibition – ‘women and change’. Panellists including Shaikha Hala Al Khalifa, Director of Culture and Arts and Culture, Shaikha Deena Rashid Al Khalifa, Director of Public Relations for the Supreme Council of Women and Camille Zacharia – Artist and Photographer, will discuss the positive roles and changes that women in Bahrain are contributingto. The panel discussion will be moderated by author and publisher Urvashi Butalia.
Shaikha Hala bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Director of Culture and Arts in the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, said: “We are delighted to inaugurate the Women Changing India exhibition at the Bahrain National Museum, continuing its longstanding tradition of hosting prominent international exhibitions that support and contribute to the cultural exchange efforts by the Kingdom of Bahrain. We believe in the power of culture as a catalyst of positive change in our communities, and this exhibition’s distinguished photographic images will give the Museum’s visitors a view of women in India.”. Shaikha Hala went on to thank all those involved in the success of the exhibition, and expressed her appreciation of BNP Paribas’ support of the cultural movement and ongoing collaboration with the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities to enrich the cultural landscape in the Kingdom.
BNP Paribas have a deeply held commitment to social responsibility and equal opportunities and has transformed this commitment into concrete action in each of the countries in which it has a presence.