Witnessing Bangladesh' Renaissance
Is Bangladesh one of the best photography scenes in the world? My answer is probably 'yes'. When I parachuted myself a couple of months ago here in Dhaka I though it was going to be easy to fully freelance as a photographer and find original stories. Now I laugh just thinking that I am going to have a little chance to do as well as local photographers to tell visual stories. They produce magnificent documentary and photojournalistic work. This surprise made me hit the ground hard. I graduated from a well known UK photo university, but I have more to learn from the local photographers than I have to offer.
Sometimes I feel like a painter from the renaissance, who had the opportunity to join the Florentine art scene and paint with Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello and Caravaggio. Bangladesh' fine photographers attend or are alumni of the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute based in Dhaka. This institute was founded by Dr. Shahidul Alam, a veteran photojournalist and former chemistry professor in London. He was the first foreigner from a developing country to be part of the prestigious jury of the World Press Photo. Dr. Alam is the Lorenzo de Medici "Il Magnifico", because he is the force that gave the opportunity to Bangladeshi photographers to learn and be confident telling their stories to global audiences.
Like the Renaissance quickly inspired other parts of Europe, Bangladeshi photographers have crossed their country's border. Thanks to Dr. Alam Chobi Mela was born in 2000. This biennial of photography became the largest festival of its kind in Asia and is considered the most demographically inclusive photo festival in the world featuring international established photographers.
My favorite dedicated and passionate Bangladeshi photographers are:
Arfun Ahmed - from the "Lost & found" series
Munem Wasif - from the "In god we trust" series (VU Agency, Paris)
Rasel Chowdhury - from the "Desperate Urbanisation" series
Sarker Protick - from the "What remains" series
Shehab Uddin - from the "Chain of poverty" series
I really admire their work and sometimes I ask myself the question, why are there so many fantastic Bangladeshi photographers? I do not have the answer to this question yet and I look forward to finding the reason in the upcoming years. However, looking at the photo essays above, I believe I know a few already.
CACTUS