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Galleries, museums and organisations across the UK are displaying a single image by Shahidul Alam.
This mass action is in solidarity with Shahidul, and to raise awareness of the movement to free him.
The images are from his exhibition at Drik in Dhaka, Bangladesh: A Struggle for Democracy - A Photo Journey by Shahidul Alam.
Shahidul Alam is an internationally recognised and award-winning photographer, human rights activist
and digital pioneer.
On 6th August this year, Shahidul was charged
and imprisoned under Section 57 of Bangladesh’s Information and Communication Technology Act after giving an interview to Al-Jazeera on the current wave of student protests in Bangladesh.
Section 57 of the ICT Act carries a minimum sentence of 7 years and a maximum of 14 years in jail.
Amnesty International considers Shahidul Alam a prisoner of conscience, detained for nothing but the legitimate use of his freedom of expression, and therefore calls for his immediate and unconditional release.
Add your voice to the campaign demanding Shahidul's immediate release. Email your support for Shahidul to Bangladesh authorities via Amnesty International. Read more and act >
Use the #FreeShahidulAlam hashtag onTwitter
Photographer charged as police crackdown in Bangladesh intensifies
6 August article in The Guardian
What does freedom in journalism look like?
Event at The Photographers' Gallery on 4 November
Intervention at Tate
Images shown at Tate Modern in action by Tania Bruguera
Dr Shahidul Alam is a Bangladeshi photojournalist, teacher and social activist. He has been a photographer for more than forty years, and his work has been widely published and exhibited. Shahidul founded some of the most influential photography organisations in Asia including the Drik Picture Library, the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute in Dhaka and Chobi Mela International Photography Festival in 1999.
Among many accolades, Shahidul is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and visiting professor at the University of Sunderland. He has chaired the World Press Photo jury and his photography has been exhibited and published across the world. In October 2018, he is due to receive a Lucie Award, honouring his international achievements in humanitarian photography.
His book My Journey as a Witness has been described as “the most important book ever written by a photographer” by John Morris, the former picture editor of Life Magazine.
Autograph
Side Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool
Impressions Gallery, Bradford
The Photographers’ Gallery
Redeye: The Photography Network
Panos
New Art Exchange, Nottingham
Photo North Festival, Harrogate
FotoDocument
Nottingham Contemporary
Breeze Creatives, Newcastle upon Tyne
Pop Recs, Sunderland
Swadhinata Trust, London
Royal Photographic Society
Sunderland Culture
Woodhorn Museum, Northumberland
HOME, Manchester
Unfold Stories & SHED London
NewBridge Project, Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead
Berwick Visual Arts, Northumberland
Four Corners, London
QUAD & FORMAT International Photography Festival
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art
Fotonow
Gallery Oldham
Star and Shadow Cinema
pic.London
InternationalPhoto Romania FestivalGalerie Lichtblick/Kolga Tbilisi Photo, GeorgiaRMIT University, Melbourne, AustraliaEncontros da Imagem - International Photo Festival, Braga, PortugalPhiliyput Art Space, Philadelphia, USANoorderlicht: House of Photography, Groningen, The Netherlands
Galeria umelcov Spiša, Spisska Nova Ves, Slovakia
Universities
University of Sunderland
Ulster University
University of Lincoln
University of Wolverhampton
London School of Economics and Political Science
Nottingham Trent University
Edinburgh Napier University
Coventry University
Royal College of Art
University of South Wales
Manchester Metropolitan University
University of Cumbria
University of Plymouth
Blackburn College
University of Gloucestershire
Birmingham City University
University of Salford
The Northern School of Art
The Northern School of Art
Anglia Ruskin University
Sheffield Hallam University
University of Derby
Durham University
University for the Creative Arts, Farnham
Bury College
LCC, University of the Arts, London
University of Brighton and photoworks
Newcastle University
University Centre Weston
Kings College London
Northern Centre of Photography, University of Sunderland, Autograph and Drik
Banner image: Shahidul Alam, Smriti Azad, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1994. Image Coutesy Shahidul Alam and Drik
Page images, from left: 1) The commercial centre of Motijheel is empty as opposition parties united to oust a dictator on 10 November 1987 [detail]. Shahidul Alam, Motijheel, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1987. Image courtesy of Shahidul Alam and Drik. 2) Shahidul Alam
Autograph is a place to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
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