Chobi Mela

What was Chobi Meta and What Happens Next

Eighteen years is a long time, measured by tectonic changes in what is expected, accepted, or challenged in photography. Steve McCurry’s “Afghan girl” (1984) might still be taken today, but the audience would immediately raise questions of exotification and instrumentalisation. The subject of the western gaze is no longer “willing,” and is shooting back, with… Read More »What was Chobi Meta and What Happens Next

OPEN CALL: New Waves of Documentary, Practice as Research

A collaboration between Pathshala South Asian Media Institute and the VII Academy. A nine month mentorship program by the VII Academy and Pathshala South Asia Media Institute for emerging photographers from the region of South Asia. Research plays a critical role in photographic practice and is especially important while doing personal, intimate, and investigative works.… Read More »OPEN CALL: New Waves of Documentary, Practice as Research

Shaheen Dill-Riaz’s films are available online

Shaheen Dill-Riaz studied at the Freie Universität Berlin History of Art and subsequently Cinematography at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg. He works often in various roles, as a writer, story consultant and producer, besides his core profession of direction and cinematography. To listen to podcast of Shaheen Dill-Riaz and Nurul Alam Atique please click here. জীবন জলে বেলে Sand and Water… Read More »Shaheen Dill-Riaz’s films are available online

Nurul Alam Atique’s films are available online

Nurul Alam Atique is a film-maker, script writer and dramatist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Through the past two decades, Atique has created a unique style of storytelling that involves intimate human concepts. To listen to podcast of Shaheen Dill-Riaz and Nurul Alam Atique please click here. চতুর্থ মাত্রা/ Choturtha Matra (2001) 1:27 minShot in 2000Original… Read More »Nurul Alam Atique’s films are available online

Chobi Mela [0]: Artist Talk

Announcing Chobi Mela Artist Talk: Aishwayra Arumbakkam (India) Bunu Dhungana (Nepal) Nida Mehboob (Pakistan) Moderated by Sarker Protick Date: 15/02/21 Time: 05:00 p.m. BST Zoom Invitation – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86572569294?pwd=T1RnQmtyOVVDcjF0MlNjK3h0aFJnZz09Meeting ID: 865 7256 9294Passcode: 407091

No to Harassment!

The Zero edition of Chobi Mela is committed to operating as a safe space which is inclusive and supportive in which no forms of discrimination are tolerated. Core principles which its initiators, Drik and Pathshala abide by, involves creating a respectful and fear-free environment for people of all genders, race, class, religion, ethnicity and sexuality.… Read More »No to Harassment!

Secretariat update- Chobi Mela 2021

We are delighted to announce that Chobi Mela will mount a special edition, “Shunno”, to create a space for artists, thinkers, healers, activists, and visionaries in self-reflective, experimental processes; to assemble and disassemble, to navigate a web of communities, relationships, and collaborations. Chobi Mela Shunno / শূন্য12-21 February 2021 This year Chobi Mela Shunno / শূন্য /… Read More »Secretariat update- Chobi Mela 2021

Introduction-secretariat update

Chobi Mela, Asia’s largest celebration of photography and visual storytelling brought to you by Drik Picture Library Ltd. and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, is back for the 8th time, and is bigger than ever as it plans to saturate Dhaka, Bangladesh for two weeks with stories untold and unseen, stories that stir nostalgia, stories that titillate, and stories… Read More »Introduction-secretariat update

The most celebrated photo event in Asia gears up for another extravaganza

It is always tough living up to the Chobi Mela hype, but CMVIII promises to be our finest yet. Starting on the 23rd January 2015, this action packed fortnight long festival has again some of the finest work from every continent. 32 print shows and a video projection spread across the six galleries in Bangladesh… Read More »The most celebrated photo event in Asia gears up for another extravaganza

An interview with Graciela Iturbide

Graciela Iturbide (born 1942) is a Mexican photographer who turned to photography after the death of her daughter in the early 1970s. Munem Wasif, curator of Chobi Mela interviewed Iturbide in February 2013 when she came to Dhaka to receive Chobi Mela VII’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Munem Wasif: I’ve been trying to understand your work for a long time… Read More »An interview with Graciela Iturbide

Shaping a vision with swapan parekh

Swapan Parekh, son of the legendary photojournalist Kishor Parekh is one of the seminal visionaries of Contemporary Indian Photography who has introduced the documentary aesthetic to Indian advertising photography. His work conveys spontaneity; even in controlled environments; opening new avenues to contemporary photography which he describes as “celebration of the ordinary”.

Faring fair ferry

I probably saw the news first on some daily. Then, one evening, a friend and I started from home and crossed the water tank to look for the Kalpana Boarding at Shakhari Bazaar. It took almost no time to find it. I can still remember what a strange experience it was. We were all walled- enclosed under an… Read More »Faring fair ferry

Cristina nuñez brings the self-portrait experience® to Dhaka

This Chobi Mela, Cristina Nuñez, Spanish artist-photographer-researcher, brings her exemplary work and philosophy to Bangladesh. Internationally acclaimed and extensively researched upon in various academic spheres, Nuñez’s work has largely explored the ‘Self’. She had initially taught herself to use photography in communicating her most overwhelming, violent, repressed and intimate emotions whilst trying to cope with… Read More »Cristina nuñez brings the self-portrait experience® to Dhaka

What i’ll never forget

13 January 2001 was my walima (wedding reception). The night before the walima, sometime around eleven o’ clock, suddenly my phone rang. A friend of mine on the other side said, “Come to Drik”. I was surprised to hear that “1971 The War We Forgot”- the exhibition- had been shifted to Drik from the National Museum. My beautiful wife asked, “Where are you going? Why… Read More »What i’ll never forget

Bridging mediums: conversation between an architect and a photographer

Each Chobi Mela offers another reason to further explore the realms of photography and to define new heights for the festival itself. When a tag like ‘Asia’s largest international festival of photography’ or ‘the world’s most demographically inclusive festival’ bestows itself upon Chobi Mela, it only heightens the world’s expectations of us. To live up to… Read More »Bridging mediums: conversation between an architect and a photographer

In the curators’ den

Chobi Mela VIII will bring together the work of more than 30 artists from around the world this January, and of course, these shows don’t just put themselves up. For the past 10 months, the curatorial team of Chobi Mela VIII has been sweating day in-day out, trying to install these shows across 11 venues… Read More »In the curators’ den

Senses beyond vision: in conversation with Mahbubur rahman, guest curator of Chobimela VIII

Tanzim Wahab: Being the founding member of Britto Arts Trust, an alternate space for arts and experiments, you have worked with a hodgepodge of art forms and artists, even assuming different roles like being a curator at times and a visual artist at other times. But, whichever roles you have acquired, they consistently involved more than… Read More »Senses beyond vision: in conversation with Mahbubur rahman, guest curator of Chobimela VIII

Ordinary girl | in conversation with cristina nuñez

I put my Summer’s back in a letter And I hide it from the world All the regrets you can’t forget Are somehow pressed upon a picture In the face of such an ordinary girl -Counting Crows There is no denying that we live in the age of selfies. Whether we share these photographs with… Read More »Ordinary girl | in conversation with cristina nuñez

Shirin neshat: a soulful nomad in search of a home

It is difficult to write about someone whose work you love so much and question endlessly. Individuals like Shirin Neshat, Nan Goldin and Marina Abramovic steal your heart and soul, stretch your limit of core, and leave you empty – awestruck. They create magic, a poetry with their fragility and make you submit; make you… Read More »Shirin neshat: a soulful nomad in search of a home

An ever-widening gyre

When asked why I had come to Dhaka for Chobi Mela VIII, the only answer I could give was that my curiosity had gotten the better of me. As a human rights specialist, the strong, socially-engaged photography coming out of Bangladesh had captured my attention in recent years. Indeed, at a certain moment, it suddenly… Read More »An ever-widening gyre

Interview with nasir ali mamun

Nasir Ali Mamun, one of Chobi Mela IX’s featured artists, is interviewed by Nabil Rahman. He talks about working through rejection, and the importance of persistence and how it is necessary in creative work.

Pushing the boundaries of the image with “Chobi mela fellows”

“Transition” is a fitting theme for the upcoming edition of Chobi Mela, one that aligns with the evolution of Bangladesh’s art scene as a whole. Photography in the country has enacted a momentous evolution in recent years from a medium mainly oriented towards documentation to a much broader endeavour. The festival’s past edition was pivotal… Read More »Pushing the boundaries of the image with “Chobi mela fellows”

The archivist and the editor

Archiving and editing are perhaps the two least glamorous activities in the life cycle of a photographer’s work. And yet without these two (and much of the time we havebeen without these on the subcontinent) works are lost to us much earlier than is necessary. They often also lose their power; without a great edit,… Read More »The archivist and the editor

Pushpamala n. Chobi mela interview

You come from a sculptural background and have done collaborations with photographers, filmmakers, writers and theatre directors. Is there a form of collaboration which you feel transports your concepts and ideas the best? How do you choose who you want to collaborate with? Sometimes I am invited to collaborate, sometimes forced to collaborate and sometimes… Read More »Pushpamala n. Chobi mela interview

Chobi mela X fellows to explore the homogeneity and dissonance of parallel expansion

The concept of the parallel universe is fascinating. The fellows of this year’s Chobi Mela are set to constitute a reality that may or may not be a reflection of their current state. The site- specific projects touch base with the spirit, consciousness of the Homo sapiens and investigate the theme Place. While the fellow… Read More »Chobi mela X fellows to explore the homogeneity and dissonance of parallel expansion

সুখ-ছবি-আলাপ! সঙ্গে শাহীন দিল রিয়াজ

ছবিমেলার দশম অধিবেশনের দ্বিতীয় দিনেই দেখা হয়ে গেল শাহীন দিল রিয়াজের সাথে। গ্যেটে ইনস্টিটিউটের ছাদে সান্ধ্য আলাপে উঠে আসলো মেলায় প্রদর্শনাধীন তথ্যচিত্র শিল্প শহর স্বপ্নলোক (২০০৫) এবং অন্যান্য কাজের টুকরো ভাবনাসমূহ। উল্লেখ্য, এই কথোপকথন চলচ্চিত্রকারের সামগ্রিক কাজকে প্রতিফলিত করে না বা তা করার উদ্দেশ্যও আমার ছিল না। এখানে নেই কিন্তু এমন অনেক প্রসঙ্গ আছে যা নিয়ে আলাপের… Read More »সুখ-ছবি-আলাপ! সঙ্গে শাহীন দিল রিয়াজ

সুজান ম্যাইসিলাস ও নিকারাগুয়া

১. সাউথ ভার্জিনিয়া থেকে নিউইয়র্ক। ৪৪ ইরভিং স্ট্রী থেকে মট স্ট্রীট। এমনি বেড়ে ওঠার নানা জায়গায় কাজের ছাপ রেখেছেন তিনি। ছোট্ট ইটালী নামে পরিচিত মট স্ট্রীটের পাড়ায় আছেন ১৯৭৪ সাল থেকে। ইমিগ্রেন্ট ইটালীবাসিদের আস্তানা নিউইয়র্কের ম্যানহেটেন ডাউন টাউনের মটস্ট্রীটের বেসমেন্টেই এখন আলোকচিত্রী সুজান ম্যাসাইলাস এর স্টুডিও এপার্টমেন্ট। নিজের মতো মগ্ন হয়ে কাজ করেন, কাজ নিয়ে… Read More »সুজান ম্যাইসিলাস ও নিকারাগুয়া