Photographer Diwan Manna to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award today
Diwan Manna will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award 2026 by the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi on October 30 at the Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10‑C. The award will be presented by artist Sudarshan Shetty, followed by an audiovisual showcase titled “The Turmoil Within”.
Born in 1958 in Bareta, Punjab, Manna earned a diploma in Graphic Art and Printmaking before turning to photography in the early 1980s. His practice blends philosophy, feminism, political activism and semiotics, creating layered visual narratives that question everyday perception.
Among his most cited series are “Shores of the Unknown”, “After the Turmoil”, “Alienation”, “Violence” and a body of conceptual self‑portraits. Working in both black‑and‑white and colour, he employs familiar forms to construct complex, reflective images.
Manna’s work has travelled widely, appearing in venues such as the India Habitat Centre, Musée des Beaux‑Arts Eugène Leroy, Musée Malraux, Wolverhampton Museum and the Museum of Indian Art in Berlin, and he has led multimedia workshops in India and the UK.
Beyond his own art, he has shaped the cultural landscape of Chandigarh and Punjab through leadership roles at the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, the Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi and Triennale India, earning awards including the National Academy Award (1996) and multiple All India Photography Awards.