Renowned photographer Bashir Ahmed Sujan's exclusive solo panoramic photography exhibition ‘Stand Up, Dhaka’ (Darao, Dhaka) was inaugurated on Friday at La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD), Dhanmondi in the capital.

A book under the same title was also launched at the inauguration ceremony, published by Duniyadari Archives.

This is Bangladesh's first vertical panoramic photography exhibition, providing a new and dynamic approach to exhibition and book-making in terms of format and gallery design.

On Friday afternoon, the exhibition was inaugurated by Khondoker Mostafizur Rahman, Director General of Bangladesh National Museum as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony. 

Eminent photographer Nasir Ali Mamun joined the event as its special guest, while Francois Grosjean, Director of Alliance Française de Dhaka and Architect Nurur Rahman Khan also attended the event as the guest of honour.

Following a unique approach, the exhibition is showcasing custom made and almost human-scale photographs that resemble the cityscapes of Dhaka.

“Throughout the years we have seen how Dhaka changes its form and shape constantly, adjusting to the need of becoming a modern cosmopolitan. As someone who was born and raised in Dhaka, I can say that Sujan’s approach to differently visualising Dhaka is something we have never seen before in other photographic exhibitions,” Nasir Ali Mamun told UNB.

Regarding his solo exhibition, Bashir Ahmed Sujan told UNB that the photographs in the exhibition and the book contain images from 2006 to 2015, with a few images from the Covid-19 lockdown. “A total of 42 black and white photographs are being showcased in the exhibition and published in the book. I captured these photographs while roaming around the city in between these years.”

Sujan is a member of Map Photo Agency and worked for various national and international organizations for more than two decades. His previous publications are ‘An Unknown Dusk’ (2007), ‘The Crochet Village’ (2010) and ‘Britto,’ a collaboration with Map photographers (2003).

Amirul Rajiv and Naim Ul Hasan are the curators of the exhibition and also the editors of the book. Regarding the uniqueness of this exhibition, curator Amirul Rajiv told UNB that the motif was to portray the rising of the skyscrapers from the ground in the city, standing together with minimal distance, and also a shoutout to the soul of the city to take a breather from its chaotic everyday realities.

The exhibition is open to all from Monday to Saturday, May 21, 2022, from 3 pm to 9 pm (closed on Sunday).

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