Shahidul Alam (born 1955) is a Bangladeshi media institution builder, a photojournalist, public speaker, storyteller, writer, blogger, curator, and educationist.
As a child, Alam was known for navigating Dhaka’s congested streets on his small fold-up bicycle.[7] He attended Jhenaidah Cadet College, a military boarding school in western Bangladesh.
Alam pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Liverpool, where he earned a BSc in Biochemistry and Genetics in 1976.[8] During his time in Liverpool, he often wore a lungi—a traditional South Asian garment—while walking through the streets. His political awareness deepened during this period through his involvement with the Socialist Workers Party.[7]
He later moved to London to pursue a PhD in Organic Chemistry at Bedford College, University of London. It was during his time in London that Alam began to take an active interest in photography. Alongside his doctoral research, he worked as a research chemist, developing alternative photographic printing processes.[9] In 1983, he won the Harvey Harris Trophy from the London Arts Council for one of his photographs—a recognition that boosted his confidence in pursuing a career in photography.[8][7] He completed his PhD the same year.[10]
In 1989, he set up Drik Picture Library, and in 1998, Pathshala South Asian Institute of Photography (later Pathshala South Asian Media Institute) in Dhaka.[11][12] Pathshala "has trained hundreds of photographers".[13][12] Alam founded the Chobi Mela International Photography Festival in 1999, the most important and prestigious photography festival in Asia, of which he remains a director.[12][14] Alam set up the South Asian Media Academy.[11]
Alam has covered news events including natural disasters, governmental upheavals, the deaths of garment factory workers, human rights abuses, the Bangladeshi government and military's repression and the "disappearances" of political opponents.[1][13]
Alam receiving Ekushey Padak from Muhammad Yunus in 2025
Crossfire Exhibition (2010)
Crossfire is a series of photographs taken by Shahidul Alam. The exhibition was curated by Jorge Villacorta, a Peruvian art critic, curator, and Alam’s colleague. Completed in 2010, it was displayed at Drik Gallery in Dhaka.[16][17] The photographs are scenographies of extrajudicial killings, widely attributed to Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).[17]
Human Rights Watch has described RAB as a “death squad” due to these reported killings.[18] Established in 2004 as a paramilitary force to combat gangsters and street violence, by late 2007, RAB had already been accused of over 350 extrajudicial killings and the torture of hundreds more.[19]
Citing concerns that the exhibition’s focus on extrajudicial killings would “create anarchy,” RAB, along with local police, forcibly shut down Drik Gallery before the opening and barricaded the venue, sparking nationwide protests.[20][11][21][22][13][23]
After Drik’s lawyers served legal notice on the government, the police barricade was removed. The court’s response and subsequent events allowed Drik to open the exhibition for public viewing on 31 March.[24]
On 5 August 2018, journalist David Bergman tweeted that Shahidul Alam had been taken from his home in Dhanmondi by 30 to 35 plainclothes police officers. This occurred shortly after Alam gave a live interview with Al Jazeera, where he criticized the government's violent response to the 2018 Bangladesh road-safety protests, which he had also been documenting through live videos on Facebook.[25][13][26][27]
Alam was believed to have been arrested for saying that the protests "stemmed from anger about widespread government corruption, and not just the bus accident that initially sparked them."[28]
On 7 August, the Supreme Court halted the seven-day remand, and after observing his physical condition, ordered authorities to admit him to a hospital. Alam was taken to a hospital on 8 August at 9 am. However, he was taken back to the office of the Detective Branch of police again at 2 pm on the same day. Alam's lawyer, Sara Hossain, said the case would not stand in court.[29]
After 107 days of imprisonment, Alam was granted bail by Bangladesh High Court and released on 20 November 2018.[30]
Since then, he has challenged the legality of the Section 57 of the ICT act with the Bangladesh Supreme Court after his challenge was rejected by Bangladesh High Court.[31][32]
Shahidul Alam has recounted some of his experiences of imprisonment in a response to Arundhati Roy's open letter to him while he was in jail.[33][34]
In Dhaka, on October 16, around 100 photographers formed a human chain at the base of Raju Memorial Sculpture under the banner of "Shahidul Alam Er Muktir Dabitey Alokchitribrindo".[51]
On the other hand, Sajeeb Wazed, the son of Bangladeshi former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, questioned those defending and demanding freedom of Alam in a controversial Facebook post.[52][53]
Arundhati Roy at Chobi Mela X (2019)
On 4 March 2019, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police revoked an invitation for Arundhati Roy's talk with Shahidul Alam, programmed during the 10th edition of Chobi Mela International Photography Festival. After 24 hours of uncertainty, the organizers of Chobi Mela finally held her talk at an alternative venue.[54][55][56]
Free Palestine Movement
Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie (2024)
On 21 November 2023, authorities from the German cities of Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, and Heidelberg canceled the 10th edition of the Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie, scheduled for March 2024. The decision followed criticism by Shahidul Alam via his social media platforms of Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza following 7 October 2023. The Biennale’s board and cultural affairs departments of the three cities labeled his posts as “antisemitic”.[57] In agreement with its longstanding sponsor BASF, the Biennale was officially canceled, citing Alam’s online activity.[58]
In response, Alam stated that the Biennale had “incorrectly equated” criticism of the project of Israel with antisemitism: “We feel that the failure to draw a distinction between criticism of a government and of a people is irresponsible and damaging to the honesty of public discourse.”[59]
In 2024, Alam returned an honorary doctorate that had been awarded to him by the University of the Arts London in 2022. The reason for his decision is the university's ongoing complicity in Israel's occupation of Palestine.[61][62]
Freedom Flotilla Coalition (2025)
On 27 September 2025, Shahidul Alam became the first Bangladeshi to join the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, an international civil society initiative aimed at challenging the Gaza blockade and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people.[63] The “Media Flotilla”s vessel, Conscience, departed from Italy on 30 September 2025. During the voyage, Alam released video messages reaffirming his commitment to reach Gaza despite potential risks.[64] On 8 October 2025, he was detained by Israeli forces in international waters. He was released two days later, on 10 October, and subsequently traveled to Turkey.[65][66][67] Shahidul Alam returned to Bangladesh on 11 October 2025.[68]
Publications
Author
Shahidul Alam: Singed but not burned. Edited by Ina Puri. Kolkota: Emami Art, 2023.[69]
Ways of Life. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Drik Picture Library, 2014. Edited by Alam. ISBN9789843383099. With an introduction by Rubana Huq.
Under the Banyan Tree. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Pathshala, South Asian Media Academy, 2011. Edited by Alam. ISBN9789843334442.
Blink: 100 photographers, 10 curators, 10 writers. New York: Phaidon, 2002. 2004, ISBN978-0714844589. Alam was a joint curator.
Published works
"What One Person Can Do: The Amazing Life of Abdul Sattar Edhi". Written by Richard Covington, photographs by Shahidul Alam. In: What Matters: The World's Preeminent Photojournalists and Thinkers Depict Essential Issues of Our Time (2008) edited by David Elliot Cohen.
"Humanitarian to a Nation: Abdul Sattar Edhi". Published in: Aramco World (2004). Written by Richard Covington, photographs by Shahidul Alam.
Exhibitions
Own work
2024. Singed but not burned. Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai, 25 April – 22 May 2024.
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