Rahaab Allana Honored with French Order of Arts and Letters

The French government has honored Rahaab Allana with the insignia of Officier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in recognition of his impactful career as a curator of South Asian photography and for fostering Indo-French artistic cooperation.

The French government has bestowed the insignia of Officier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres on Rahaab Allana, acknowledging his stellar career as a curator of contemporary South Asian photography and his significant contributions to Indo-French artistic collaboration over the years.

The announcement was made by the French Embassy on Wednesday in a formal statement.

Thierry Mathou, the French Ambassador to India, conferred the insignia upon Allana, the Curator and Publisher at the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, during a special ceremony held at the French Embassy in India.

The accolade, l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, is awarded to individuals who have exhibited exceptional creativity in arts, culture, and literature, or have significantly influenced the arts in France and globally.

Allana joins an esteemed group of Indian honorees including Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Raghu Rai, Ebrahim Alkazi, Habib Tanveer, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, and Upamanyu Chatterjee.

Over his career, Allana has edited numerous publications and curated several exhibitions on South Asian photography, collaborating internationally with museums, universities, and festivals, including notable French institutions like Rencontres d'Arles, Musée du Quai Branly, and Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP).

He is also a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and served as an honorary research associate at University College London. Currently, he is a member of the Arts and Culture Committee at the Asia Society (India Chapter).

Allana's two-decade-long artistic journey with France commenced with exhibiting the Alkazi Collection at the Arles Photo Festival in 2007. He has since curated numerous projects for Indo-French arts, including exhibitions for the Bonjour India festivals in 2018 and 2022.

Additionally, his close ties with cultural institutions in France and India led to his election to the Board of Directors of Alliance française de Delhi. He is also engaged in a research project on the South Asian legacy of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Ambassador Mathou praised Allana's nearly 20 years of curatorial work that fortified cultural exchanges between France and India, highlighting the recognition as a testament to Allana's invaluable role in enhancing mutual understanding between the two nations.

(With inputs from agencies.)