Gomov India Archive Today

The custodians of the Gomov India Archive are currently in a race against time. Silver nitrate negatives are decaying. The current project, funded by a grant from the Getty Foundation, involves AI-assisted restoration of damaged plates.

Plans for the next five years include:

The name "Gomov" is often a point of confusion. It is not a surname of a famous photographer but rather a curated signature—a collection named after the process of "gathering moving moments" (a loose translation from a now-obsolete colonial-era term). Initially started by a consortium of art historians in the late 1990s, the archive was later digitized and expanded by a private trust dedicated to preserving South Asian visual culture. Gomov India Archive

The collection was nearly lost twice: once during the communal riots of Partition in 1947, and again in a warehouse fire in Delhi in the 1980s. The fact that it survives today is a testament to the obsessive dedication of a handful of collectors who refused to let these fragile prints turn to dust.

In an era of "fake news" and AI-generated imagery, the physical authenticity of the Gomov India Archive is invaluable. Here is why this archive is critical for contemporary society: The custodians of the Gomov India Archive are

For years, the archive was a physical vault in New Delhi, accessible only to a select few researchers with letters of recommendation. However, the "Digital Gomov" initiative launched in 2019 changed the landscape.

Today, a significant portion of the Gomov India Archive is available online via a high-resolution portal. Here is how to access it: Pro Tip for Researchers: When using the search

Pro Tip for Researchers: When using the search bar, do not use modern spellings. The archive uses colonial-era spellings (e.g., search "Cawnpore" instead of "Kanpur," or "Jubbulpore" for "Jabalpur") to yield the best results.