The Association of People with Disabilities (APD) has launched AS i AM, a nationwide photography and videography competition intended to challenge stereotypical portrayals of people with disabilities and document their everyday lives. The competition offers a prize pool of more than ₹10 lakh, with entries open until October 31.
APD said the initiative was created in response to the limited representation of people with disabilities in visual media. Coverage has often reduced disability to either stories of helplessness or accounts of extraordinary achievement, leaving little space for ordinary experiences, relationships and participation in society.
Jacob Kurian, a board member of APD, said people frequently defined individuals by their disabilities instead of recognising them as people with complete and varied lives. He said the disability conversation in India still had considerable ground to cover, particularly because people with disabilities were often denied the opportunity to participate fully in mainstream life.
The competition brief asks participants to move beyond pity and exceptional achievement. APD has encouraged photographers and filmmakers to portray people with disabilities as neighbours, friends and family members, and to focus on experiences that are authentic rather than extreme.
The initiative also connects representation with the practical difficulties of navigating Indian cities. Kurian said that for millions of people, commuting by bus or moving through spaces without signage suited to different impairments could be comparable to scaling Mount Everest. The observation points to the role of transport systems, public infrastructure and wayfinding in determining whether people can participate independently in urban life.
AS i AM will accept stories covering a broad spectrum of experiences, including intellectual and cognitive disabilities, difficulties faced by older people and temporary disabilities. APD said the objective was to create greater awareness through visual storytelling, which it believes can make social experiences more memorable than data alone.
The jury includes filmmaker R. Balki, cinematographer Santosh Sivan, para-badminton player Manasi Joshi, investor Luis Miranda, advertising professional Josy Paul, Sneha Iype, Ishaan Nair and Mohit Ahuja. The competition is open to anyone above the age of 18.
Winners are expected to be announced in December. Selected photographs and videos will be added to a stock library, while APD plans to develop a longer-term repository through exhibitions, visual archives and other platforms. The organisation also plans to hold an exhibition in major cities early next year. Registration details are available at www.asiamapd.com.
