Shahidul Alam - Photographs.

Shahidul Alam (born 1955 in Dhaka, Bangladesh) is a photographer, writer, and curator whose work has centred on documenting social change and building institutions for visual culture. He studied chemistry in London before turning to photography in the early 1980s, developing a practice that combined image-making with education and publishing. His photographs have frequently engaged with political movements, natural disasters, and everyday life in Bangladesh, positioning photography as both record and inquiry.

Shahidul Alam established a number of influential organisations, including the Drik Picture Library, the Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, and the Chobi Mela International Photography Festival. These initiatives provided professional training, exhibition opportunities, and international connections for photographers across South Asia. By doing so, they created structures that reduced reliance on Western news agencies and redefined how the region could present itself to both local and global audiences.

In 2018 Shahidul Alam was detained for more than 100 days following comments he made in the media about government actions, an event that drew attention from press freedom groups worldwide. Despite this, he has continued to work across photography, teaching, and writing. His practice combines visual documentation with analysis of how images are produced, circulated, and understood, making him an important figure in contemporary debates about representation and power.

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