Spotlight

Capturing moments speak out:
Aktel International Inter University Photography Exhibition

Elita Karim

There is a certain pleasure to capturing moments, long gone memories, the natural elements that make up our surroundings, not to mention the essence of silence and expressions. Like many other young photographers, North South University Photography Club (NSUPC) has been grooming there young photographers for more than a decade. Each generation, students and members join this club with new ideas, expressions and an innovative outlook of the world around them, showcasing a fresh and vibrant NSUPC every year.

According to NSUPC, the current generation of youth lives in a world where even emailing becomes too slow for communication and 10 seconds feel like an eternity. In this fast paced world, people seldom have the time to stop and marvel at the beauty of nature, let alone to stop and admire the beauty of a simple photograph. Yet, there are many young wide-eyed dreamers around the world who view photography as more than a means to capture a fun moment with their friends and loved ones. All it takes is a little encouragement and motivation to launch these youngsters into the fascinating world of photography and make them see the world with a creative eye.

This year, the club has taken the extra step. North South University Photography Club organised the 6th International Inter University Photography Exhibition (IIUPE), this year showcasing as AKTEL International Inter University Photography Exhibition 2007, in collaboration with Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The title sponsor of the event was AKTEL, and media partners being the Daily Star, Aamar Desh, Radio Today, and Banglavision.

Owing to the good response from the photography fraternity in town and also an enthusiastic reply from other universities outside Bangladesh, this yearly international exhibition has finally established itself as one of the biggest photography exhibitions in the country. In this exhibition, at least 550 photographs belonging to more than 200 photographers from 16 countries competed against each other. Participants from 30 local universities and 20 foreign universities participated in the exhibition. A total of 32 awards have been given to first and second prize winners in different categories. The entries were categorised into Colour or Black and White, with subcategories of Landscape, Portrait, Lifestyle, Architecture, Action, Still Life and Nature. The Photo story was a new category added to this year, in addition to the two Jury Awards which were also given out this year.

Apart from these, Nayebuddin Ahmed has been awarded the lifetime achievement award for his dedicated contribution in the field of photography of Bangladesh.

The week long exhibition was held at the National Art Gallery of Shilpakala Academy from March 17-23 and attracted a lot of art lovers, young students and famous photographers and artists in the country.

The panel of judges had some of the most established photographers in the country, who also made a mark internationally. The panel was led by Dr. Shahidul Alam, Mr. Abir Abdullah, Mr. Pavel Rahman, Mr. Nafis Ahmed Nadvi and Ms. Sanjida Shaheed. With such big names as these gracing the occasion, the exhibition turned out to be a huge success, bigger and more glamorous than the previous ones. Once again NSUPC added yet another dimension to the field of photography.

Like every year, the club got in touch with the many photography clubs, associations and centres in the universities abroad so as to participate in the exhibition. Every year, the countries seem to increase and the art seems to be defined better. This year, entries came in from Canada, South Africa, Germany, India, China, England, France, Nepal, Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey and USA along with entries from both public and private universities in Bangladesh.

Each art work reflected the mind and soul of the poet, or in other words, each of the photographs seemed to speak the photographer's voice. Each work spoke of emotions such as happiness, sorrow, confusion, the joy of victory and the agony of defeat. “It's wonderful how these young artists described their emotions so well and precise,” comments Zamir, a regular visitor to the exhibitions.

According to Shahriar Mitul, the current president of NSUPC, the exhibition has made the platform for young photographers more concrete. “Let us dream so that these dreams may one day be realised,” he remarks.