We would wish to thank all the exhibiting artists, event participants, workshop conductors, sponsors and everyone else who helped make this festival a success.

Sparks of Chobi Mela VII will linger on over the next couple of weeks – with certain workshops only having begun today and the touring exhibitions still to be dispatched – but hopefully the Chobi Mela fire and passion for photography will sustain us until the next edition of the festival in 2015.

Over the past weeks we’ve come to understand that fragility need not be a weakness but can be a source of strength and that there is kindness not only in listening to other people’s opinions but great hope in empowering their stories. Now we just need to build on that.

Barbara AKA Shift
Photo by Drik/Majority World

With the end of the festival my time in Bangladesh is slowly running its course… So, good bye for now and see you back in Dhaka for Chobi Mela VIII.

Let’s see if we can get 2 Rolls Royce for the opening rally in 2015.

From portraits of the men and women who made Bangladesh, to a poem to The Buriganga. From an intimate examination of the bond between two sisters and a rare skin disorder to the documentation of Chinese pollution. From Mexican magical realism to Iranian reality and the brutality of war. From students to mentors and beyond. The picture editors from Time, Geo and The Guardian meet the Majority World as it finds both voice and vision. In among the teeming Dhaka Chobi Mela’s white background posters seem to be beacons of a new world: less depressed, less angry and newly empowered to write not only Bangladesh’s future but our own.

Ruth Eichhorn from GEO magazines
Photo by Chris Riley

Last time I was here I loved the student show and this year was no different. Tutored, mentored and cajoled by Morten Krogvold a group of 25 students documented Dhaka’s human side and created a show in four days, including the shoots and the printed catalogue. Rather than descend into the depression of all of Dhaka’s problems the students plundered its substructures to elevate the fine and the fun. Idiosyncratic, profound and often simply cool, the show was a triumph of story-telling with a twist: stories told by young men and women about the goodness of the human spirit and its capacity to prevail. This work was not full of parental anger, it was full of a child’s delight. I loved it.

Morten Krogvold and Hasib Zakaria
Photo by Chris Riley

It had to be seen in the context of a photography community questioning the fundamentals and economics of their trade even as the art form itself is emerging as a massively influential universal language of the digital age. Dhaka felt like the perfect backdrop to the conversations, a city with broken infrastructure trying to sort out a way to manage its prolific growth. It was noisy, dangerous and occasionally violent. Yet Dhaka provided the Dhaka Art Center and the Asiatic Gallery of Fine Arts among others as sanctuaries for art and thoughtful conversation. Images from Australia, Africa, Mexico and many more made sure Chobi Mela was as comprehensive a survey of world photography as it was a deep study into photography’s development in the digital age.

Rupert Grey on the Rolls Photo by Chris Riley

Chobi Mela starts with a rally and ends with a celebration. It is both radical and inspirational. From an activist past it is now becoming a focus of modern activism: an activism of rebuilding and reclaiming after the activism of tearing down the social structures that have created havoc. I come to the end of my second Chobi Mela, the seventh in its history, once again reminded that change comes not from the top or the centre but from the bottom and the edge.

The theme this seventh season was “Fragility”, I wish the idea had been more thoroughly investigated because it seems perfect as a way of thinking about the photographic world itself. Massive changes are sweeping away reliable best practice and opening up photography to an instant and massive version of itself that causes concern among many practitioners. But what Chobi Mela demonstrates in the work shown is that there is no fragility or uncertainty in the fact that photographers are a powerful force in art. This is the visual age and, yes, these are the visionaries.

That is why I will be back in two years.

Visit Chris Riley’s website: http://www.studioriley.com/

For all of you who have missed Chobi Mela 2013, or have been here, but already miss it,  you can watch video footage of all the presentations and events from next week on at driknews.com.

Since we are in Dhaka, Bangladesh, let’s start the slow good bye with some Bangladeshi artists and a brief summary on Chobi Mela VII:

• Chobi Mela VII – with Shahidul Alam, Graciela Iturbide, Patrick Witty etc. (in Bengali and English)
• Bangladeshi Photography – Curated by Munem Wasif
• Nasir Ali Mamun – Artist’s Talk (in Bengali)

Stay tuned for more post-festive updates and news.

Morten Krogvold at the opening ceremony Photo by Adnan Wahid/Drik/Majority World

Norwegian Ambassador Ragne Birte Lund during the opening ceremony Photo by Adnan Wahid/Drik/Majority World

The exhibition ‘Students Work’ will be on view at the Asiatic Gallery of Fine Arts (5, Old Secretariat Road) until 9 February.

Jody Haines during the slide-show on Australian photography

Jodi Bieber during her artist’s talk

Opening of Samsul Alam Helal’s exhibition

Opening of Saiful Huq Omi’s exhibition

Mahdieh Mirhabibi during her presentation at EMK Center

Hossein Fatemi during his presentation at EMK Center

Richard Billingham during his artist’s talk

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Opening of Eugene Richards’ ‘War is Personal’

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Patrick Witty during his lecture on picture editing at TIME magazine

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Shahidul Alam, Ruth Eichhorn, Veneta Bullen and Patrick Witty during the panel discussion ‘New directions – Shifts in Editorial Space’

“The next door neighbours of Drik have been complaining. With the team working 24 hours, carpenters banging away past midnight hasn’t made us popular. In between the Croatian volunteer Siniša and the Chinese photographer Hai Zhang arriving, Arfun came in with a coffin. It was to go with Eugene Richard’s show, War is Personal. The powerful, but sensitive work needed to be contextualized for a local audience and the coffin was to be part of the exhibit. Arfun couldn’t resist playing corpse.“

For the whole article and Le Journal de la Photographie‘s coverage of Chobi Mela VII click here.

When one meets Sarker Protick, he immediately strikes one as a musician. His fingers are slender from having plucked guitar strings for too long, while his eyes are intent and dreamy at the same time. Interestingly though, one wouldn’t be too far off; not so long ago, Protick was indeed part of a band.

“Photography wasn’t a conscious decision on my part. I liked taking pictures and got admitted to Pathshala. For the first two years, I had no idea what I was doing there, except that I really enjoyed taking pictures,” confessed Protick. “In celebration of 12 years of Pathshala, a book was published comprising of some of the more meaningful works from photographers who have emerged from Pathshala – and my work was selected. It was then that I realised that if there was something I liked doing, and I was doing well at it – I might as well keep on doing it.”

‘What Remains’ by Sarker Protick

Protick’s work carries an endearingly original voice. Simple, minimalistic, poignantly personal – his philosophy of less is more is well defined in his photographs. In the story of his grandparents, John and Prova – titled ‘What Remains’ and exhibiting in Chobi Mela VII – Protick relays the sense of waiting, of a life spent between two people and the rekindling of a bond. He admits how he once didn’t enjoy his grandparents company because he didn’t know what to talk about; but as he began photographing them to break the silence, he began rediscovering relationships beyond of what is evident. His grandmother passed away during the project, and Protick began to visit his grandfather more frequently so he had someone to talk to – and now, what began as a simple process of recognition has evolved into a lifelong friendship.

“I often feel artists have a label of being vagabond, particularly in the context of Bangladesh. A responsible institution perhaps guides the artist, and makes him or her realise that being professional and organised is just as much of an art as what is being produced,” shares Protick. “I feel responsible towards the medium, in terms of redefining it and exploring it – but photography for me has always been a personal calling. Many of the best photographers in the world are self-taught, but I’m glad something like Pathshala exists for those who can do better and learn much more than just technicalities.”

Protick essentially feels the best work comes from within the heart. It is important to be hard-working and smart, but it’s more important to have talent, to develop something original that comes from one’s guts. He has lived by it till now and bravely admits he hasn’t regretted it, yet.

by Sabhanaz Rashid Diya

“My world is a world full of struggles,” confesses Samsul Alam Helal, one of the seven Bangladeshi artists who are exhibiting at Chobi Mela VII. “Photography is no different, it is full of struggles.” Lean, with sunken eyes, and a patch of beard on his chin, Helal can be easily mistaken for a third-year student from Charukala (Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka). He comes off as forlorn yet sincere, invisible yet powerful – and there’s something about his presence that moves one to explore his thoughts. Having been brought up in a family where his brother owned a studio, photography came as a natural curiosity. On finishing his undergrads in Management, Helal realised his calling was behind a lens in a box. He received a scholarship from Pathshala South Asian Media Institute and without informing his family, began to take classes regularly. Over the span of three years he developed his unique voice, in his words – fictional photography.

“I enjoy representing reality in an alternate space. What we see isn’t necessarily the whole story, and when I take pictures, I try to delve into the fictional aspects of the story. A boy working at a roadside tong might be a movie buff, and if I photograph his story, I will try to explore his love for movies rather than his daily life,” explains Helal.

‘Love Studio’ by Samsul Alam Helal

His work at Chobi Mela VII is an example of how he portrays the world. Aptly titled ‘Love Studio,’ Helal takes his audience on a magical journey through the lives of the people of Jurain – and beyond the ordinary everyday. He tells Tipu’s story, a young boy who is in love with actress Shahnaj and who is placed next to a life-size cardboard version of her in the studio. Tipu wouldn’t let go and in imperfect raw honesty, Helal photographs the passion and tension of a surreal, imaginary affair. In the studio in which he creates his stories, the characters are free to explore, become their true yet fictional selves. A truck driver turns into an action hero, twin sisters transform to Greek goddesses. Life is somewhere else.

“The trouble is always with balancing dreams with reality. I still struggle to make ends meet. I don’t like the corporate assignments because they leave the artists with little time to play with the concepts in their heads. I still need to do them to have enough financial freedom to do what I want to do,” says Helal. “The stories in ‘Love Studio’ are similar. They are about people who cannot live their dreams because of harsher realities. I tried to give them some breathing space to be themselves, and in the process, was able to give myself the liberating joy of being myself.”

The interview was conducted by Sabhanaz Rashid Diya

If you are not in Dhaka remember that you can join us at the events via live streaming!

Check out some of the photographs from the past few days.

Maika Elan presenting her work ‘The Pink Choice’ – Photo by Drik

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Leandro Viana de Paula talking about his work at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy – Photo by Drik

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Sarker Protick talking to the audience about his work ‘What Remain’ – Photo by Drik

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Maïmouna Guerresi explaining ‘Inner Constellations’ – Photo by Drik

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Bangladeshi photographer Rasel Chowdhury talking about ‘Desperate Urbanisation’ – Photo by Drik

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Mohammad Anisul Hoque (centre) in conversation with Nii Obodai (right) – Photo by Drik

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Graciela Iturbide (centre) at the opening of her exhibition ‘Naturata’ at the AFD – Photo by Drik

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Nii Obodai during his slide-show on African photography at the Goethe-Institut – Photo by Drik

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Ruth Eichhorn during her presentation at the EMK Center. Front row (from left to right): Muge, Hai Zhang, Mohamed Somji, Ilaria di Biagio, Patrick Witty, and Chris Riley – Photo by Drik

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The morning sessions at the EMK today ran a little bit late due to some of the speakers being locked inside their hotel. Patrick Witty and Veneta Bullen arrived late for their panel discussion because of the  demonstrations and riots on the streets of Dhaka. Things quieted down around noon and all photographers and visitors finally made it to our venue – safe and sound.

Exhibiting artists Hai Zhang took some photographs of what happened.

Morning of 28 Jan, Dhaka – Photo by Hai Zhang

Morning of 28 Jan, Dhaka – Photo by Hai Zhang

Morning of 28 Jan, Dhaka – Photo by Hai Zhang

Morning of 28 January, Dhaka – Photo by Hai Zhang