The KTM Assembly at PhotoKTM6 
Nov 24th – 29th, 2025 
Kathmandu, Nepal  

The KTM Assembly is a gathering that will unfold from Nov 24th – 29th, 2025 as part of the sixth edition of PhotoKTM, that invites cultural organizers, collectives and organizations working in the arts and culture in artist-led, community-oriented, non-extractivist, intersectional, global south contexts to come together, share each other’s work and experiences, learn and explore the following questions; 

How do we organise ourselves? What are the kinds of platforms, institutions and infrastructures that we need to do the work we wish to do in our global south contexts? How do we rethink funding and resource sharing? How do we sustain the relationships and networks that nurture solidarity work in a world that is very much shaped by output driven expectations and competition? How do our bodies carry the weight of systemic violence and inequities – individually and collectively? How do our bodies and nervous systems allow for or prevent collective work? How do we care for ourselves and for each other to be able to cope with the urgencies of the world, stay connected and thrive together? 

The KTM Assembly is informed by a stance honed through Imperfect Solidarities, a conversation series run by Prathama Raghavan and NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati in Kathmandu through 2019 and various experimental, process-based projects led by yasmine eid sabbagh. All participants may offer diverse contributions/invitations in the form of screenings, collective readings, presentations and experimental exercises that will make way for group conversations, exchanges and collective learning. Prathama will propose somatic and reflective practices to support and expand the capacities of our bodies and minds individually and collectively to allow for continuity of our work, to care for each other and to make space for difficult conversations. 

All sessions will be by registration only. Time will be built into the sessions to allow for participants to cook and eat together, visit exhibitions and other places of interest in Kathmandu, and really take the time to get to know each other. These opportunities to gather as arts, cultural, feminist, community practitioners with others from global south and majority world contexts are rare. We hope this assembly will contribute to the building of critical south-south solidarities and opening up pathways for more collaborations and exchange in the future.    

The KTM Assembly will be hosted and facilitated by yasmine eid-sabbagh, Prathama Raghavan and NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, and will build on conversations between them over the last year.

yasmine eid-sabbagh is an artist and researcher who explores potentials of human agency by engaging in experimental, collective work processes, that include (counter-) archiving practices as well as radical pedagogical work. Photography often acts as a medium for her to communally investigate notions of collectivity, power, and endurance.

Prathama Raghavan is a psychologist and psychotherapist, informed by feminism, Disability Justice, somatic and narrative practices, consulting with children, young people, families and communities, excavating stories of resistance and persistence, on a journey to finding out ‘what the world is trying to be.’

NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati is a Kathmandu based cultural organizer. She is the co-founder and artistic director of PhotoKTM, as well as photo.circle and Nepal Picture Library – platforms and initiatives that nourish image-making, history-telling, and dialogic engagements with diverse publics. 

Program details

• The KTM Assembly will run from November 24th – 29th, 2025 as part of the sixth edition of PhotoKTM 
• The Assembly invites cultural organizers, collectives and organizations working in the arts and culture in artist-led, community-oriented, non-extractivist, intersectional, global south contexts to apply
• Participants should plan to join us for the full program, on all days, and arrive at least one day ahead in Kathmandu if traveling from elsewhere 
• The festival unfortunately can not offer travel and accommodation, however we are happy to support with any travel grant applications that we can
• Lunch and refreshments will be provided on all days of the Assembly for the full group. Two group dinners will also be provided  
• In addition to 8-10 key contributors, the program will invite 15 – 20 additional participants through an application process. The group size will be kept small to enable intimate conversations 
• The primary mode of conversation will be English with limited translation support in Nepali
• The program is free for selected participants 

Application Process

• To apply for this program, please submit your application via this form: https://forms.gle/BAV5hqd8paUfmz8b6   
• In the form you will be asked to submit your short bio, a short description of the org/collective that you are part of, a short description of your role within it, your contact info, etc.  
• Application deadline October 15th, 2025 
• Applications will be reviewed by the festival team and Assembly facilitators and selected participants will be notified by October 20th

For queries, please write to mail@photoktm.com. This assembly will contribute to the building of critical south-south solidarities and opening up pathways for more collaborations and exchanges in the future.