‘Chhobi Mela VII’ from Jan 25

The seventh edition of the biennial photography festival, which is largest and oldest of its kind in Asia, titled “Chhobi Mela” will begin from January 25.  The weeklong festival will feature works of 34 photographers from 24 countries.“Fragility” is the theme of this year’s festival and it was picked up from an online poll. Providing participating photographers will get a chance to focus on socio-political issues has always been the main concern.
Among 34 photographers, seven are from Bangladesh will participate in this photography festival. Other participating countries include India, Malaysia, Iran, Italy, Vietnam and Nigeria will also take part on this occasion.
The inaugural ceremony of the festival will be held at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on January 25 at 4:00pm. Other venues are: Shilpakala Academy, Drik Gallery, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Dhaka Art Centre, Chhobir Haat, Lichutala of the Faculty of Fine Arts of University of Dhaka and Mall Chattar of Dhaka University.
At the opening ceremony, a Lifetime Achievement Award will be conferred on an internationally renowned photographer whose name will be revealed later.
Eight workshops will be conducted by some world-renowned photographers, including Morten Krogvold, Chris Riley, Chris Rainier and Gaël Turine during the festival.
Several other events such as panel discussion, artist’s talk, seminar, gallery walk, slideshow and book launch will be held throughout the festival.
Drik Gallery and Pathshala: South Asian Media Academy are the main organisers of the festival. Details about the festival are available on www.chobimela.org.
This was announced at a press conference held at Drik Gallery in the city’s Dhanmondi area on Thursday.
Shahidul Alam, Director of “Chhobi Mela,” announced this information on behalf of the organisers at the conference. Members of the curatorial panel – ASM Rezaur Rahman, Munem Wasif and Tanzim Wahab – were also present on the occasion.
In his speech, Shahidul Alam told the journalists, “Photography has put the country on the map. Bangladeshi photographers have firmly established themselves in the international circuit and photographers from across the world are keen on working here.”
The participating Bangladeshi photographers are young and they have the creativity to go far, he said.
India has initiated a similar kind of festival in 2011, while countries such as China, Singapore and Cambodia started their respective festivals after “Chobi Mela” began its journey in 1997, said the organisers.

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