Every Life is in Many Days brings together acclaimed documentary photographer and London-based artist Seamus Murphy and renowned UK curator Zelda Cheatle for an exclusive conversation at the British Council, New Delhi, on Sunday, 23 August. Coinciding with Murphy's first exhibition in India at Museo Camera, the discussion will explore documentary photography, visual storytelling, curatorial practice, and his enduring connection with India.
About the exhibition
Life is in Many Days marks Murphy's first exhibition in India. Bringing together photographs from his acclaimed bodies of work on Afghanistan, America, Russia and his native Ireland, the exhibition also premieres new photographs made in Kolkata, a city he considers his second home. Together, these works offer a deeply personal reflection on memory, belonging and the shared experiences that connect people across cultures and geographies.
About the Speakers
Seamus Murphy is an internationally acclaimed photographer, filmmaker and author whose work has been recognised with seven World Press Photo awards for projects spanning Afghanistan, Gaza, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Peru, the UK and Ireland. Over a career of more than three decades, his practice has explored themes of conflict, identity, place and everyday life through deeply human, long-form visual storytelling.
Murphy is the author of five photography books, and his work has been exhibited internationally. His photographs are held in the permanent collections of leading institutions including the Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Imperial War Museum, London; the National Gallery of Ireland; and FRAC Auvergne, France.
Based in London for over 40 years, Murphy has made a significant contribution to the UK's documentary photography landscape as a photographer, author and educator. His work has shaped conversations around documentary practice, ethics and visual storytelling, with recent exhibitions in London and Bradford further cementing his standing within the UK's cultural landscape.
Zelda Cheatle is an internationally respected independent curator, writer and lecturer specialising in photography. Over a career spanning more than three decades, she has curated exhibitions, developed collections and championed photographers through galleries, museums, festivals and publications, playing a significant role in shaping the field of contemporary photography.
Cheatle founded the Zelda Cheatle Gallery, one of London's leading specialist photography galleries, and later established zcp publishing and The Photography Fund, one of the first international collections dedicated to twentieth-century photography. Her work has brought together major works by European, American and Russian photographers alongside the archive of Eve Arnold, contributing to the preservation and promotion of photographic practice.
She has curated exhibitions and directed photography festivals across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, collaborating with museums and cultural organisations internationally. Alongside her curatorial practice, Cheatle lectures, mentors photographers and curators, and contributes essays to books and exhibition catalogues. Her contribution to photography has been recognised with the Royal Photographic Society's Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award (2021), an Honorary Fellowship from Arts University Bournemouth (2022), and the Association of Photographers' Women of Influence Award (2024).