Visual Sikkim: Historic Photographs of Sikkim

In 2003, the Institute established the ‘Visual Sikkim’ project with the aim to locate, digitize and document old and rare photographs of Sikkim both in India and abroad. The project is gradually reconstructing one century of Sikkimese history through the use of historic visual material. Photographs from local collections were scanned and documented while others were obtained directly from private and public collections held in Europe and America. The Institute now houses the most comprehensive digital photographic archive on Sikkim dating from the 1860s to the 1970s from which the following historic photo exhibitions were held:

 

• Who is Behind the Camera? (2005)
• The Namgyal Dynasty of Sikkim (2006)
• Druk-Denjong: A historical Perspective (2007)
• Permanent Exhibition on the Namgyal Dynasty of Sikkim (2008)
• Historical Views: Looking back on Sikkimese Landscapes (2009)
• North Sikkim: the Lachen and Lachung Valleys (2010)
• North Sikkim: History of the Lachen Valley (2010)

 

The historic photo project has now shifted its focus from holding exhibitions to book publishing and setting up a documented digital image bank that will be made available on the internet.

This ongoing project is being carried out by Dr Anna Balikci-Denjongpa, Research Coordinator, NIT, at various earlier stages with the assistance of Dr Stefanie Lotter, Tenzin C. Tashi, Tshering Penchung and Phurba Tshering Bhutia.