Chobi Mela V launches 'Freedom' festival

Dhaka, Jan 30 (bdnews24.com) – Dhaka hosts "Asia's largest photography festival" as Chobi Mela-V, exhibiting works of artists from 33 countries on the theme of 'Freedom', was launched Friday.

Shahidul Alam, director of the fair, says the world mostly sees photographs of Bangladesh related to poverty, floods or cyclones.

"Our aim was to move away from this tradition and show the world photographs of every type of joy and sorrow."

The Chobi Mela, first launched in 1993, will run from Jan 30 to Feb 20 this year and its aim is to attract visitors from all walks of life.

"Over sixty exhibitions, thirty five participating nations, well over a thousand images, and over fifty visiting artists from Asia alone, are impressive statistics, but the emphasis on figures is misleading," say the festivals' organisers.

"The dozen or so workshops, the weeklong sessions of presentations, debates, lectures and discussions … will perhaps be what the visitors remember the most."

The works of top class photographers from Bangladesh and around the world will be shown at 63 exhibitions in 11 venues around the capital, including prominent galleries and open spaces like Karwan Bazar.

The festival also features a video conference between three outstanding individuals, Mahasweta Devi, Noam Chomsky and Stuart Hall, as they provide their take on 'Freedom' the theme of this year's Mela.

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