Abhijeet Gurjar is an independent visual journalist. He holds a diploma in mechanical engineering from T.B. Girwalkar Polytechnic and a diploma in journalism and mass communication from Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University. The Images from English magazines like Readers Digest, and India Today subscribed by his grandfather left a strong impression on his mind, though he could not even read them in childhood. He has been working as a photographer since 2015. His interest lies in socioeconomic, environmental, and humanitarian stories.
He is the only scholarship winner to participate in the Foto-Evidence Workshop 2021 in France. He is the winner of the Photo SouthAsia Grant, in 2020. He has been selected for the Indian Photo Festival 2020 for the Portfolio Reviews by the Nat Geo photo team. He has been practising visual journalism and producing multimedia stories for various International Publications. Parallelly he’s also working on documentary projects such as ‘Prisoners Rehabilitation ‘and ‘Sisters of Hope.’ He got an opportunity to exhibit his ongoing project on the campus of Kolhapur central jail in November 2018. He has also contributed to ‘Ashden Awards 2021‘ UK by producing assessment reports for the two award winners. He has started teaching photography in a one-year post-graduate Diploma in Digital Journalism program at Shivaji University, Kolhapur. He is also a member of the inaugural cohort of journalists from India and Nigeria organised by PRB, which will address Public Health Reporting.
He contributes to international wire agencies like Reuters, and Zuma Press. His work has appeared in various international outlets including The Times, The CS Monitor, The Wall Street Journal, France24, BBC, LaCroix, and Mongabay.
Grant/Awards:
- Photo South Asia Grant winner 2020,
- Indian Photo festival 2020, Portrait Prize Competition finalist,
- Portfolio Review by Nat Geo in Indian Photo Festival 2020.
- Unesco Literacy Photo Competition Winner 2022.
- Solo Exhibition: “Prisoners Rehabilitation” was exhibited in Kolhapur Central Jail premises on 15th November 2019.
Group Exhibitions: He’s regularly displaying his work in group and solo exhibitions.
- Photography on Wheels an initiative by Padma Shri Sudharak Owle hosting group exhibitions. He was one of the contributors to the exhibitions organised in March 2019 in Kolhapur.
- Group photo exhibition organized by Mumbai Press Club, Mumbai in September 2019 about flood coverage from western Maharashtra.
- Group Exhibition Indian Photo Festival, 2020 showcased Photo South Asia Grant winner’s work.
- Group Exhibition Indian Photo Festival 2020 showcased Portrait competition finalist work.
- Photo-Walk Seattle, Washington 2021 a group exhibition on ‘Civil Rights and Activism.’
- Art Gallery Flox, Kirschau, Germany 2022, a group exhibition on ‘Rich- Soil’
Educational Workshop: He is learning relentlessly to improvise his skill sets. He has completed mentioned Photography workshops. He was also shortlisted for a month-long Advance Photography workshop by Shaukat Nanda, AK School of Photography, Srinagar, Kashmir.
- IPF, Hyderabad- 2017- Stuart Franklin, Magnum.
- Guhagar-2018- Padma Shri Sudharak Olwe, Mumbai.
- Goethe-Institute, Mumbai- 2018- Prof Peter Bialobrzeski, Germany.
- IPF, Hyderabad- 2020- Smita Sharma, Documenting Human Rights with Sensitivity.
- FotoEvidence, 2021(France)- Human Rights & Social Injustice. Selected with Scholarship
Study Workshop: He has successfully completed workshops organized by
- Earth Journalism Network & Internews– 2 days study workshop on climate change and Indian fisheries industry, November 2019 Kochi, India.
- Thomas Reuters Foundation, UK- LGBTQI+ Rights India two days online workshop, August 2020.
- Thomas Reuters Foundation, UK- Human trafficking and Modern-day Slavery, a month-long workshop
- Journalists & Writers Foundation JWF NewYork, Workshop, 2022- five Days training workshops.
- UN Bussiness and Human Rights South Asia Forum and Traning Program, Nepal, 2023.
abhijeetgurjar.in 