Have you ever imagined the alleys, the public spaces or the entire Patan Durbar Square as an art gallery? If yes, then your imagination turned to reality from November 3-9 as that was when the historical place was transformed into a live exhibition space. The world heritage site hosted the first ever international photography festival to be held in Nepal, Photo Kathmandu. The week-long festival was organised by the photo collective, photo.circle.

Eighteen print exhibitions showing works of both national and international artists, with the theme ‘Time’ was on display. Over 45 international artists and many Nepali photographers from outside Kathmandu participated in the festival. According to the organisers, each of the exhibition represented a chapter in the history of Nepal.

Upon choosing the festival location, festival director NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati revealed Patan to be an incredibly rich urban landscape – both in terms of tangible but also intangible heritage and by locating the event amidst it all, they wanted to both celebrate the urban landscape as well as draw attention to how it needs careful planning and preservation.

Here are some glimpses of the photos featured in the festival: