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Chobi Mela Programming Schedule

January 16, 2026
3:00 pm

Opening Day Rally

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
4:00 pm

Opening Programme

at Jatiyo Chitrashala Auditorium

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
4:45 pm

Art as Resistance

Shahidul Alam in conversation with yasmine eid-sabbagh, Muhammad Salah, Gary Knight, and Tanvi Mishra

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
5:30 pm

Exhibition opens for public viewing

January 17, 2026
10:30 am

Portfolio Review

Portfolio Review by Anshika Varma, Donald Weber, Gary Knight, Karen Fromm, Lars Bauernschmitt, Lotte Sprengers, and Shadman Shahid

Drik-Path Bhaban
4:30 pm

Land of a Thousand Cameras

Naeem Mohaiemen in conversation with Tanzim Wahab

Joyeeta Foundation
6:00 pm

Protest Photography – Past and Present

Talk by Duncan Forbes

Joyeeta Foundation
7:00 pm

When the World Is Blind (Part Two) - Photojournalism in the Face of Impunity

yasmine eid-sabbagh in conversation with Samar Abu Elouf

Joyeeta Foundation
January 18, 2026
10:00 am

Guided Tour

Guided Tour ‘Women in the July Uprising: Essential Then— Why Erased Now?’

Bangladesh National Parliament (South Plaza)
4:00 pm

Government and Politics in post-Mass Uprising Bangladesh

Lecture by Nurul Kabir

Joyeeta Foundation
5:00 pm

Against Erasure

Ri, Mosfiqur Rahman Johan, and Muhammad Salah in conversation with Munem Wasif

Joyeeta Foundation
6:30 pm

One Hundred and Twenty Minutes

Talk by Amak Mahmoodian

Joyeeta Foundation
January 19, 2026
9:00 am

আলাপ

A morning gathering at Brihatta Art Foundation

(Invitation-only event)

Brihatta Art Foundation
4:30 pm

Building Books, Building Worlds: A Conversation on Photobook Practices

Anshika Varma, Nicolas Polli and Shahria Sharmin in conversation with Vincent Hasselbach

Joyeeta Foundation
6:00 pm

Archiving Otherwise

Diwas Raja KC (Nepal Picture Library), Naeem Mohaiemen, Maryam Rahman (Estate of Lala Rukh) and Sneha Ragavan (Asia Art Archive)
in conversation with Tanvi Mishra

Joyeeta Foundation
7:00 pm

A Fiddly Place

Talk by Bani Abidi

Joyeeta Foundation
January 20, 2026
4:30 pm

Retrieving the Rhythm of the July Uprising

Lecture by Mustafa Zaman

Joyeeta Foundation
6:00 pm

Who Does The River Belong To?

Talk by NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati & Sagar Chhetri

Joyeeta Foundation
7:00 pm

Temporality and Architecture

Talk by Marina Tabassum

Joyeeta Foundation
January 21, 2026
10:30 am

Portfolio Review

Portfolio Review by Alan Hill, Abdul Aziz Sohail, NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, Tanvi Mishra, Vincent Hasselbach

Drik-Path Bhaban
4:00 pm

Guided Tour: Rights of Passage

‘Rights of Passage’ with Curator Tanvi Mishra

Drik-Path Bhaban
5:00 pm

Guided Tour: Dheu

‘Dheu’ with Curator Shohrab Jahan and Chobi Mela Fellows Debashis Doob, Md. Imtiaj Islam, Mong Mong Shay, Moni Majhi, Mrittika Gain, Pulak K Sarkar, Rakib Ahmed Babu, Saleha Akter Umama, and Tanjila Biswas Munia

Drik-Path Bhaban
January 23, 2026
4:00 pm

Guided Tour: 'But a Wound that Fights' & 'If the Land Could Speak'

With Curators Munem Wasif and Sarker Protick

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
January 30, 2026
4:00 pm

Fire Dekha: Amanul Huq

With Shahidul Alam, Nasir Ali Mamun and Mofidul Hoque

Bangladesh National Museum

About Us

Chobi Mela, the first festival of photography in Asia, is one of the most exciting ventures that Drik and Pathshala has initiated. The first Chobi Mela – International Festival of Photography was held in December 2000 – January 2001. It is the most demographically inclusive photo festival in the world and is held every two years in Dhaka.