The Association of People with Disability (APD) has launched 'AS i AM', a nationwide photography and videography initiative inviting people across India to document the everyday lives and experiences of people with disabilities. The project begins with a national competition and will eventually create exhibitions and a lasting visual archive of more representative disability stories.
For more than six decades, the Association of People with Disability (APD) has been working towards something fairly basic that still remains out of reach for a lot of people: making sure people with disabilities can live full, productive and independent lives. Founded in 1959 in Bengaluru, APD works across urban and rural South India through a life-cycle approach that covers early intervention, inclusive education, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, assistive and adaptive technology, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, community mental health, and livelihoods. Its work also extends to disability research and training, policy and advocacy, horticulture and accessibility initiatives like Yes To Access. The organisation has reached more than 10 lakh people with disabilities and sensitised over 15 lakh people, while its community-based rehabilitation programmes take therapy, training, and support into rural and underserved areas.
A lot of this work is about dealing with the very practical things that can decide how much independence a person with disability actually has. APD provides physiotherapy, speech, and language therapy, visual therapy and other rehabilitation services, works with families and caregivers, provides assistive devices and runs outreach programmes through its Rehabilitation On Wheels initiative. Its livelihood programme works on community mobilisation, vocational training, career guidance and job placements, including partnerships with more than 120 prospective employers across South India. There are also foundation courses covering everyday life skills, English, basic maths, writing, sign language and self-management, along with horticulture training for careers in nurseries, landscaping, floriculture and sustainable agriculture. The organisation also trains rehabilitation professionals through its Institute of Disability Rehabilitation and Research.
AS i AM grows out of this larger work, taking the question of representation into photography and videography. It is a nationwide visual storytelling movement by APD inviting people across India to document the real, layered and joyful lives of people with disabilities. The first phase is a competition open to people aged 18 and above, including professional and amateur photographers, with people with disabilities specifically encouraged to participate. Entries can be submitted as photography or videography, with categories including portrait, daily life, and candid work. The competition is also asking for a narrative statement about the subject and their ordinary day, making the story behind the frame part of the submission.
The competition carries a total prize pool of ₹10 lakh, along with mentorship from leading visual storytellers, and entries go through a two-round blind judging process. But the larger idea stretches beyond a prize or a single competition: AS i AM wants these photographs and films to help change the narrow ways disability is usually represented, eventually feeding into exhibitions, visual archives, and other platforms as a lasting repository of these stories. With entries closing on October 31 2026, the project is essentially asking photographers and filmmakers to look at everyday life as it exists and give those stories more room to be seen.
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