Sudharak Olwe: In Search of Dignity and Justice
© Sudharak Olwe
About The Artist
Sudharak Olwe is an Indian social documentary photographer. Born in 1966, his extensive body of work spread over last three decades has resulted in a startling body of work known for its uncannily intimate portraits of those whom mainstream society marginalizes and disparages.
His work include documentation of atrocities on Dalits, series of exhibitions and book on Mumbai’s conservancy workers, intimate stories from the lives in Kamathipura - Mumbai’s seedy red light district, sensitive journey of the women survivors of domestic violence and revolutionary story of the midwifery in Jharkhand. He has also served at prominent and principal positions at the photography departments in various leading newspapers, including Times of India, Indian Express, DNA and Lokmat etc. His work has been published in various international publications including Indes France, Zeit, London Times, Harper Bazaar, EPA etc.
Sudharak has exhibited in numerous art galleries, art festivals and institutions,and his exhibitions were well received in Sweden, Bangladesh, Netherlands, USA, Cambodia, Japan and Germany. He was one of the four awardees for the National Geographic’s “All roads photography programme” and won the Gabriel-Grüner Award.
In 2016, Sudharak Olwe was conferred the Padma Shri, India’s 4th Highest Civilian Award by the President of India, in recognition of his valuable and tireless work.
In 2005, Sudharak Olwe founded Photography Promotion Trust. The non-profit organization aims at using the skills of photography to create definitive change in the lives of socially marginalized communities and promotes Social Documentary Photography for emerging photographers.