Drik picture library
Encyclopedia
Drik Picture Library Ltd. is an award winning picture library set up by Bangladeshi writer and photographer Shahidul Alam
and Bangladeshi writer and anthropologist Rahnuma Ahmed. The agency was set up in 1989 to provide a platform for local photographers in the majority world. The Sanskrit word Drik, refers to vision, inner vision and philosophy. Drik has gone on to provide media services which includes web development, video production, print production and exhibitions. In 1998 it set up Pathshala
: The South Asian Institute of Photography and Chobi Mela
: the first festival of photography in Asia. Drik uses new media extensively in its activism and introduced email to Bangladesh in the early nineties. It also set up Banglarights, the Bangladesh Human Rights Network and DrikNews, independent news that extensively uses citizen journalism
. More recently, Drik set up Majority World an unprecedented photo library and agency set up to promote the work of photographers from the Global South and to promote Fair Trade Photography. It is headquartered in Dhaka
, the capital of Bangladesh
, but also has branch offices in India and the UK.
Shahidul Alam
' was born in 1955 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He studied and taught chemistry in London where he obtained a PhD from the University of London.He started photography in 1980 and was awarded the by the London Arts Council in 1983...
and Bangladeshi writer and anthropologist Rahnuma Ahmed. The agency was set up in 1989 to provide a platform for local photographers in the majority world. The Sanskrit word Drik, refers to vision, inner vision and philosophy. Drik has gone on to provide media services which includes web development, video production, print production and exhibitions. In 1998 it set up Pathshala
Pathshala
Pathshala, the South Asian Institute Media Academy was originally set up in 1998 by the Bangladesh photographer, writer and activist Shahidul Alam , as "Pathshala South Asian Institute of Photography". The school was phenomenally successful despite its limited infrastructure...
: The South Asian Institute of Photography and Chobi Mela
Chobi Mela
Chobi Mela is a biennial international festival of photography held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the largest festival of photography held in Asia. Chobi Mela VI will be held from the 21st January to 3rd February 2011. The theme is "Dreams." The key organisers are Drik Picture Library Ltd. and...
: the first festival of photography in Asia. Drik uses new media extensively in its activism and introduced email to Bangladesh in the early nineties. It also set up Banglarights, the Bangladesh Human Rights Network and DrikNews, independent news that extensively uses citizen journalism
Citizen journalism
Citizen journalism is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information...
. More recently, Drik set up Majority World an unprecedented photo library and agency set up to promote the work of photographers from the Global South and to promote Fair Trade Photography. It is headquartered in Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, the capital of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, but also has branch offices in India and the UK.