Happy February!
We are in the middle of a very stimulating workshop with 14 Bangladeshi, Nepali and Norwegian students and award winning photographer Philip Blenkinsop. The workshop is the beginning of an extended exchange program where participating students will produce an in-depth photo reportage project.

Philip Blenkinsop conducting a workshop in Drik Studio in Dhaka. Photo Wahid Adnan/DrikNews

Philip Blenkinsop has been described as “one of the most essential photographers of his generation” (Christian Caujolle). He is adamant that the photographer should never censor scenes through the camera. ?Photographers are both witnesses and messengers. Our responsibility must always lie with the people we focus on, and with the accurate depiction of their plight, regardless of how unpalatable this might be for magazine readers.? His work, published in international arenas, has been the catalyst for much discussion and amongst other accolades was awarded Amnesty International?s Photojournalism prize for excellence in human rights journalism.
The 14 students participating in this workshop are; Arfun Ahmed Shawon, Benjamin Ward, Gyanendra Bhattarai, Ina Inglingstad, Labib Mohammad Sharfuddin, Md. Samsul Alam, Prakash KC, Prasiit Sthapit, Rajan Shrestha, Rajneesh Bhandari, Salma Abedin Prithi, Sapana Shah, Sindre Thoresen L?nnes and Tapash Paul.
It gives us great pleasure to invite you to join us for this special screening of the students’ and Philip’s works:
SATURDAY, 11th February @ Summit Hotel, Kupondol Heights
4:30 PM: My Asian Heart
My Asian Heart follows award winning photojournalist Philip Blenkinsop on assignment to China, setting up his next exhibition. Capturing Nepal during the pro democracy uprisings. And reflecting on the plight of the Hmong ?survivors? who continue to haunt him. In Philip?s world there?s constant tension between his artistic commitments and the drive to report on world conflicts. The film is directed by David Bradbury.
[The Summit Hotel TV Room]
6:00 PM: Student Showcase
[The Summit Hotel Inner Courtyard]
7:00 PM: Philip Blenkinsop Showcase
[The Summit Hotel Inner Courtyard]
The workshop is part of an ongoing programme between Oslo University College in Norway and Pathshala. South Asian Media Academy in Bangladesh.
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www.photocircle.com.np

Author: Shahidul Alam

Time Magazine Person of the Year 2018. A photographer, writer, curator and activist, Shahidul Alam obtained a PhD in chemistry before switching to photography. His seminal work “The Struggle for Democracy” contributed to the removal of General Ershad. Former president of the Bangladesh Photographic Society, Alam set up the Drik agency, Chobi Mela festival and Pathshala, South Asian Media Institute, considered one of the finest schools of photography in the world. Shown in MOMA New York, Centre Georges Pompidou, Royal Albert Hall and Tate Modern, Alam has been guest curator of Whitechapel Gallery, Winterthur Gallery and Musee de Quai Branly. His awards include Mother Jones, Shilpakala Award and Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dali International Festival of Photography. Speaker at Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Oxford and Cambridge universities, TEDx, POPTech and National Geographic, Alam chaired the international jury of the prestigious World Press Photo contest. Honorary Fellow of Royal Photographic Society, Alam is visiting professor of Sunderland University in UK and advisory board member of National Geographic Society. John Morris, the former picture editor of Life Magazine describes his book “My journey as a witness”, (listed in “Best Photo Books of 2011” by American Photo), as “The most important book ever written by a photographer.”

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