World Press Photo arrives in Dhaka

Fatima al-Qaws cradles her son Zayed (18), who is suffering from the effects of tear gas after participating in a street demonstration, in Sanaa, Yemen, on 15 October. World Press Photo of the Year and People in the News, 1st prize singles, Samuel Aranda/NOOR for The New York Times

 
Drik in cooperation with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Dhaka, have pleasure in inviting you to the opening of the World Press Photo 12 exhibition at Drik Gallery, on Thursday, 26 April 2012, 5.30 pm. After the launch in Amsterdam on the 20th April 2012, this is the first public viewing of the exhibition, which will also be launched in Poland, Spain, Portugal and Italy in April 2012.
A leopard attacks a forest warden after escaping from the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, in West Bengal, India.. 2012, Spot News, Honorable Mention singles. Salil Bera. The Week/Majority World

The exhibition honours the prizewinners of World Press Photo?s 55th Photo Contest.
Rebels battle for Ras Lanuf, an oil-refining town on the Libyan coast, on 11 March. Spot News, 1st prize singles, Yuri Kozyrev. Noor Images for Time

The exhibition will be on at Drik Gallery till 18 May 2012, everyday from 3-8 pm.
Drik Gallery
House 58, Road 15A (New)
Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1209, Bangladesh
Tel: 880-2-9120125, 8112954, 8123412
Email: office@drik.net
 
Programme
5:30        Welcome Address by Shahidul Alam, Managing Director, Drik
5:40        Address by H.M. Ambassador Alphons Hennekens, Kingdom of the Netherlands
5:50        Address by Femke van der Valk, Coordinator Exhibitions, World Press Photo
6:00        Address by Nurul Kabir, Editor, New Age, Guest of Honour
6:10        Vote of Thanks by Abir Abdullah, The Jury Member, World Press Photo 2011
About World Press Photo
World Press Photo is an independent, nonprofit organisation based in Amsterdam, committed to supporting and advancing high standards in photojournalism and documentary photography worldwide.
Each year, an independent international jury, consisting of nineteen members, judges the entries in nine different categories, submitted by photojournalists, agencies, newspapers and magazines from all corners of the world. This year?s competition attracted 5,247 photographers from 124 countries. In total 101,254 images were entered in the contest.
The annual exhibition is shown this year at about 100 venues all over the world. This year?s exhibition contains over 160 photographs. It is an annual public showcase for photojournalism comprising the year?s winning photo, together with award-winning images from each of the nine contest categories.
About Drik
Drik is a distinctive multimedia organisation that has made challenging social inequality its central driving force. Established in Bangladesh in 1989, Drik has successfully partnered with national and international organisations using the power of the visual medium to educate, inform and draw powerful emotional responses to influence public opinion. The Picture Library, the Photography, Publications, Audio-Visual and Gallery departments work in synergy to carry out the work of the company. It?s ability and influence is strengthened by its initiatives, the Pathshala South Asian Media Academy, DrikICT, Chobi Mela International Festival of Photography and the Majority World Photo Agency.
Drik Gallery was opened in August 1993 with the first showing of World Press Photo in Bangladesh. There is a story behind the scenes. Bangladesh was in the midst of a massive democratic movement in the late eighties. On the streets, through curfews and through tear gas, Drik was documenting events in their entirety. Throughout this period, the major galleries, either state owned or belonging to foreign embassies, were not prepared to exhibit Drik?s work, since it was ?political?. Drik knew it had to build its own gallery. The first ever staging of World Press provided the perfect opportunity. Drik gathered its resources and built what is now, one of the finest galleries in South Asia and the largest private gallery in Bangladesh.

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.”

4 thoughts on “World Press Photo arrives in Dhaka”

  1. Dear Shahid Bhai
    Such a great event arranged by your Drik. Though i Missed but hope all photographers
    will enjoy & learn the advancement of world photography.
    Now a days Our country”s photographers are doing verry well.
    Wish you all the best.
    cordialy
    kazi hasan sarwar
    Free lance photographer
    April 27/2012
    Toronto

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