Drik Picture Agency organised a discussion programme to mark its 22nd anniversary on September 24 at the rooftop of its office building in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. A photo exhibition highlighting the organisation’s motto — to always ask hard questions — was opened after the discussion. Managing director of Drik, Dr. Shahidul Alam, and filmmaker-editor Catherine Masud spoke on the occasion.
Drik, formed in 1989, has become a familiar name in the global photography circuit, particularly in developing countries. Dr. Alam asserted that the agency works relentlessly for social equality, and that challenging carefully constructed perceptions that perpetuate inequality and oppression is its central driving force. He hoped that “in coming years the rural journalism network, the masters course in broadcast journalism at Pathshala and the ramping up of the Majority World Agency, will radically change how majority of the world, particularly the rural poor, are represented.”
Dr. Alam’s speech was followed by Golam Kasem Memorial Lecture III, delivered by Catherine Masud. In her paper on “The state of moving image in Bangladesh”, Masud proposed a number of ways through which the Bangladeshi film industry can be revolutionised.
Guest of honour Frederiek Biemans, of World Press Photo, also gave a brief speech highlighting how powerful images combined with information have the ability to question delicate social issues and encourage public debates, discussions on them. Biemans opened the exhibition.
The exhibition at Gallery I features three of Drik’s staff photographers. Mahbub Alam Khan’s photo-essay is titled “Bangladesh, for the people, by the people”. His photos question the price of economic development without considering the inevitable consequences it has on common people. Through his works he followed the protests that began in 2006 against open-pit coal mining in Dinajpur. Video clippings of an interview of Professor Anu Muhammad, by Dr. Shahidul Alam, are also being played.
Wahid Adnan’s works are moving witnesses of the crash of Dhaka Stock Exchange in 2010 and the following riots. The frustration and helplessness of hundreds of stakeholders, many of whom had gone bankrupt as the market plunged, have been demonstrated in his works.
Saikat Mojumder has brought photos of a red light district in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The photos tell the heart-rending tale of young girls who are trapped into prostitution due to unbearable poverty.
The exhibition ends on September 30.
-With The Daily Star input
