bio.

Neel Bhattacharjee (b. 1998) is an Indian art practitioner who divides his time between Howrah and Darjeeling, West Bengal, engaging primarily with photography. However, rather than simply "making pictures," he spends an unreasonable amount of time contemplating why moments matter in the first place.

 

Holding both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Communication Studies—with gold medals from St. Joseph’s College, Darjeeling, and the University of North Bengal respectively—his work often centres on qualia: the ineffable “what it feels like” of being, whether human or otherwise.

 

Neel’s photographic inquiry is a tangled mix of communication theory, visual journalism, research, and metaphysics. His projects are less about finding answers and more about raising questions. In 2024, he was a student at the International Summer Academy of Fine Arts in Salzburg, Austria, where he exhibited his work in the “Open Studios #1” student group show at the Hohensalzburg Fortress. That same year, he became one of the first Indian photographers to be featured in the Magnum E-Learn Community Spotlight.

 

In 2025, Neel was invited by Alessia Glaviano, head of PhotoVogue, to present his visual praxis in a panel discussion moderated by Yael Martínez at the Global PhotoVogue Festival in Milan, Italy. There, he also screened his project “The Pause”, created during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Neel is currently pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Visual Journalism at the Asian Center for Journalism, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.

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Upcoming Shows & Past Exhibitions:

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•  Cluster Photography & Print Fair from 10–13 April 2025 at 118 Curtain Rd, EC2A 3AY, London, UK, where he will sell limited-edition prints from his project “I think, therefore I disappear”.

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• "The Tree of Life: A Love Letter to Nature," 6th – 9th March 2025 at Global PhotoVogue Festival, Milan, Italy.

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• “Open Studio #1”, a group show by students of the International Summer Academy of Fine Arts from 2nd – 3rd August 2024 at Hohensalzburg fortress, Salzburg, Austria.

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• Neel exhibited his work as a part of “Bagh-E- Bahar: Garden as Universe”, a group show curated by Anjchita Nair for the India Art, Architecture & Design Biennale 2023 at Delhi's Red Fort from 9th December 2023 – 31st March  2024.

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Scholarships . Workshops . Honours . Grants  :

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• Received a scholarship from the Society of Friends of the International Summer Academy of Fine Arts to attend the course 'Constructed Worlds: Breaking down a Photo Series' with Sarker Protick, 22nd July – 3rd August 2024, at the Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria.

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• Neel’s work is recognised for the first Community Spotlight by Magnum Photos from the Magnum E-Learn Community.

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Collaborations:

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• Neel frequently collaborates with installation artist Susanta Paul & creates a visual conversation, that deepens the experience  of the curated space immersing viewers in liminal worlds. 

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• UK-based artist Alex May collaborated with Neel for his virtual reality project "A Kolkata” during the Indo-European Residency 2021 by the Goethe Institute.

 

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