shahıdul alam

Shahidul Alam was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1955. Time Magazine ‘Person of the Year 2018’, National Geographic ‘Explorer at Large’, photographer, writer, curator and human rights defender Shahidul Alam received the highest national award given to Bangladeshi artists. Obtaining a PhD in chemistry before switching to photography, Alam continues to document the struggle for democracy in Bangladesh. A global public speaker, Alam has exhibited in leading galleries like MoMA, New York, US; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France and Tate Modern, London, UK. A professor at RMIT and Sunderland Universities and Honorary Fellow of Royal Photographic Society, Alam chaired the international jury of World Press Photo. John Morris of Life Magazine described his book My Journey as a Witness as ‘the most important book ever written by a photographer’. The Tide Will Turn featured on New York Times list of ‘Best Art Books of 2020’. An institution builder, Alam set up the Drik Photo Agency, Pathshala South Asian Institute of Photography, Chobi Mela International Festival of Photography and Majority World Agency. He also introduced email to Bangladesh. He was arrested in 2018 for criticising his government but released on bail following a global campaign.