Chobi Mela, the international festival of photography since its inception in 2000 has been the single biggest photography event in Asia and the first of a regular biannual, one that has become one of the highlights of the Asian calendar. It is organised by Drik Picture Library Ltd. and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute. The Eighth edition of Chobi Mela is holding from January 23rd to February 5th, 2015. The theme of this year is “Intimacy“.
Chobi Mela VIII honoured photographer of Bangladesh, Anwar Hossain with lifetime achievement award, for his contribution in photography of Bangladesh for decades. The Honourable President of Bangladesh, Mr. Md. Abdul Hamid presented the award to the legend at the opening ceremony of Chobi Mela VIII.
The Opening Ceremony of Chobi Mela VIII was held on the 23rd of January, 2015, at 3:40pm in the National Theatre Hall, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The festival was inaugurated by the Honorable President of Bangladesh, Mr. Md. Abdul Hamid. Also present at the ceremony was the honourable Minister of Cultural Affairs, Asaduzzaman Noor; Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Liaquat Ali Lucky; Lens Blog Editor and Photographer of the New York Times James Estrin and the Director of Photography of Geo magazine, Ruth Eichhorn.
Earlier on the day, before the inauguration ceremony, a rally was organised from the Press Club to Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy where members of Drik Picture Library Ltd., Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Chobi Mela, photographers and people from all walks joined in to celebrate the occasion.
The welcome speech was delivered by the festival director, Shahidul Alam. He said in his speech, “Photography is an incredible weapon, but battles cannot be won with weapons alone, one needs soldiers. That was why I took two young photographers with me to the festival in Arles in France, many years ago. My friend Abbas, then the chairman of Magnum walked them along the famous corridors that the legends had walked on. I saw the dreams in these two young men and I knew they needed to be realized. If the viewer couldn’t go to the festival, the festival needed to come to the viewer. That idea gave birth to Chobi Mela. Today the festival stands tall as a marker of where the nation stands in the world of photography.” The festival director thanked all partners, associates and members of Chobi Mela for all the support and hard work.
The Honorable President of Bangladesh, Mr. Md. Abdul Hamid congratulated Drik and Pathshala for organizing such an event of international standard. He added, “I believe marvelous though this festival is, it is only the beginning and that years from now, we will look back at this time and remember we were part of it. And our children and our children’s children will remember us for having played our part. I congratulate the organisers for their splendid service to Bangladeshi society and indeed the world and feel honoured to have been part of it.” The President at the end of his speech inaugurated the festival officially.
Lens Blog Editor and Photographer of the New York Times James Estrin praised Bangladeshi photographers and their works, giving credit to Drik and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute for nurturing talent of young photographers
The honourable Minister of Cultural Affairs, Asaduzzaman Noor applauded the praiseworthy role of Drik in the last 25 years and Pathshala for its contribution in photography of Bangladesh.
The Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Liaquat Ali Lucky talked about the aesthetic sense of Chobi Mela. He said, “The world class art that you will see on these walls, and the equally impressive art that you will see all across Dhaka, will only be matched by the extremely high quality of the talks, presentations and workshops that the participants will enjoy. The outdoor exhibitions and the mobile exhibits will ensure that art will not be limited to gallery goers only, but that the ordinary man and woman will also share in this event.”
The Director of Photography of Geo magazine, Ruth Eichhorn expressed her praise for Bangladeshi photography . “If you wake me up at night and ask me to – immediately – spill out five names of outstanding photographers from Bangladesh, I would not have a problem. There are other and bigger and more industrialized countries where I would just go back to sleep without a word.”
The president and other esteemed guests inaugurated the gallery and praised the photographs. The Shilpakala Academy is exhibiting works by Antoine Bruy, Arthur Bondar, Dinesh Abiram, Hadi Uddin, Jana Romanova, Jannatul Mawa, Kevin Bubriski, Larry Towell, Laura El-Tantawy, Malcolm Hutcheson, Maria Kapajeva, Michel Le Belhomme, Paolo Patrizi, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Shirin Nishat and Tushikur Rahman.
Chobi Mela VIII will be a two week long festival, starting from the 23rd of January 2015 till the 5th of February 2015. The theme of the festival is ‘Intimacy’ and will feature more than 30 artists from more than 20 countries across the world. A total of 32 print shows and a video projection will be spread across six galleries of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy; two galleries each at Drik, Alliance Francaise and the Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct; National Museum; Bokultola of Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University; Britto Arts Trust; Beauty Boarding, Northbrook Hall and Bulbul Lalitakala Academy. All the exhibitions are free for all. The rickshaw-van exhibition, carrying miniature versions of all the exhibits – a trademark of Chobi Mela, will travel the streets of Dhaka, taking photography closer to the people. Venues such as the Bokultola, Bulbul Lalitakala Academy of Fine Arts and Beauty Boarding help us take photography everywhere and make Chobi Mela more demographically inclusive. Lectures, panel discussions, artist talks, gallery walks, workshops and portfolio reviews make up some of the activities, most of which will be streamed live to a global audience. There will be educational programmes too.
Partners of Chobi Mela VIII are Ministry of Cultural Affairs, American Embassy, Bangladesh National Museum, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and Goethe Institut. Associate partners of Chobi Mela VIII are Berger Paint, Mutual Trust Bank and the Square Group. Helped by facilitating partners, Bangla Trac Communications, Beximco Group, Mohammadi Group, Novoair, The Spanish Embassy and the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. Venue partners were The Alliance Française, BulBul Academy of Fine Arts, Bengal Foundation, Dhaka South City Corporation, The EMK Center and the Faculty of Fine Arts of Dhaka University for the shows, lectures and the presentations. Headoffice Communication, Atelier Robin Architects and Britto Arts Trust are creative partners. Intercloud have ensured our connectivity to the rest of the world. The Catalogue is a key component which was supported by BRAC Bank. Flora, The AK Khan and Company Limited and Eastern Bank provided more general support with hospitality being provided by Tiger Media. Mainstream media have played a staggering role, particularly Channel I and BTV who are streaming live as we speak.
The two weeks festival is organised by Drik Picture Library Ltd. and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute. The event will continue tomorrow with the Gallery Visit at the Alliance Francaise at 4:30 pm and artist talk by Larry Towell at the Goethe Institut at 6:30pm. Both the events are open for all.
FESTIVAL
8th edition of Chobi Mela Festival
January 23rd to February 5th, 2015
House 58, Road 15A (New)
Dhanmondi Residential Area
Dhaka 1209
Bangladesh
