Shahidul Alam (image by and courtesy of Tom Hatlestad)
This morning, November 15, internationally acclaimed photojournalist Shahidul Alam was granted bail by the Bangladeshi High Court after 102 days in the custody of the Bangladeshi government, and multiple unsuccessful attempts by Alam’s legal camp to secure bail. Alam’s lawyer, Sara Hossain, told Al Jazeera she hopes the 63-year-old artist will be released by Sunday.
“We now call on Bangladeshi authorities to ensure his prompt release, and for the charges to be dropped altogether. Free expression is not a crime, and Alam should never have been detained under a repressive law for simply expressing his opinion about current events,” said Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Director of Free Expression at Risk Programs at PEN America, an organization dedicated to protecting freedom of speech for journalists and writers internationally.
The photojournalist was abducted from his home on August 5, almost immediately following a telecasted segment of Al Jazeera in which the artist decried government-sanctioned “looting of the banks, the gagging of the media, the extrajudicial killings, disappearings, bribery, and corruption.” In weeks prior to his arrest, he had been an outspoken advocate and chronicler of the student protests throughout Dhaka, which had overtaken the city with massive crowds, demanding the Bangladeshi government reform traffic laws following the traffic-related deaths of two students.
In court, Alam was accused of posting “imaginary propaganda against the government” on his Facebook profile that “triggered panic among public and caused deterioration of law and order.” He was charged under section 57 of the International Communication and Technology Act for spreading anti-government propaganda.
Amnesty International explains, “He was unable to walk by himself when he appeared in court in August, and he told friends that he had been beaten up by the authorities.” Alam told the court, “I was hit [in custody]. I bled.” New Age Bangladesh reports that it was originally requested he spend 10 days remanded in police custody.
Thousands have rallied in support of the photojournalist, holding demonstrations and exhibitions, and publishing open letters demanding his release. Art world figureheads including Hans Ulrich Obrist, Anish Kapoor, and John Akomfrah have offered their support. Tania Bruguera, a contemporary artist who was jailed in Cuba between 2014–2015 for her outspoken opposition to Cuban censorship, has held two interventions at the Tate Modern to raise international awareness about Alam’s plight.
The Latest
Art Problems: How Do I Get a Public Art Commission?
Want to leave a mark on your city or town, but don’t know where to start? Paddy Johnson has some tips.
Rose B. Simpson Embeds Ancestral Histories in Clay
She has taken clay and used it to recall its ancestral roots in Pueblo culture and address the present history of postcolonial recovery and ongoing trauma.
Mondays at Pratt Institute: Weekly Openings of Work by Graduating Artists
Free and open to the public, Pratt Shows celebrate the school’s graduating students. MFA and BFA work on view this spring in Brooklyn, New York.
Quiet Paintings at a Time of Sensory Overload
Where Kim Mikyung’s process suggests an obsessive burrowing into the self, Kim Hyung-dae casts his gaze upward and outward into the sky.
Is the “Free the Nipple” Movement Too White?
Online representations of the activists lean White and thin, creating an image problem for the movement.
LSU School of Art Grants Highest MFA Stipends in the Southern US
With funded assistantships, full tuition waivers, and generous stipends, Louisiana State University helps students lay the groundwork for a successful lifelong art practice.
New “We ❤️ NYC” Campaign Misses the Mark
The recently unveiled design is meant to live alongside the iconic original and specifically address the city, but New Yorkers are not happy.
1,000+ Objects at The Met Linked to Antiquities Smugglers
A report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists revealed hundreds of works once owned by people accused of or convicted of antiquities crimes.
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Offers Summer Art and Design Courses Online and On-Campus
Emerging and established artists can choose from over 50 Adult Continuing Education courses at one of the most influential art and design schools in the US.
Lunar Bead Necklace and Asteroid “Emoji” Head to Auction
Christie’s bizarre sale features other space rocks propped up on stands like sculptures.
Scientists Create the First Full Brain Map of a Fly
The achievement is a giant step toward understanding human neural networks.
IDSVA Offers a Non-Studio PhD in Visual Arts: Philosophy, Aesthetics, and Art Theory
With no campus, the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts is a truly nomadic institution, existing everywhere our students and faculty are.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Closes Over Climate Protest
The institution shuttered in advance of an action planned for the 33rd anniversary of its infamous art heist.
Remembering the Migrants Who Died in US Detention
Artist Jackie Amézquita will lead a caravan of trucks with the names of the deceased to LA sites representing systems of oppression and solidarity for immigrants.