Though the Drik Gallery was opened in August 1993 with the first showing of World Press Photo in Bangladesh, there is a story behind the scenes. We were in the midst of a massive democratic movement in the late eighties. On the streets, through curfews and through tear gas, we were documenting events in their entirety. Throughout this period, the major galleries, either state owned or belonging to foreign embassies, were not prepared to exhibit our work, since it was 'political'. We knew we had to build our own gallery. The first ever staging of World Press provided the perfect opportunity. We gathered our resources and built what is now, one of the finest galleries in South Asia and the largest private gallery in Bangladesh.


The gallery, split into two levels (on the first and second floor of the building), has permanent wall space measuring 446 running feet. Its total floor area is 2,796 square feet.

List of prominent national and international shows:

• Group photography exhibition : Borders and Beyond, Nature's Fury, Positive Lives, Remaking Destiny, Seeing with a Different Eye, Tales from a Globalizing World, The War We Forgot, World Press Photo.
• Solo photography exhibition : Abir Abdullah, Shahidul Alam, Reza Deghati, Roshini Kempadoo, Pedro Meyer, Joel Meyerowitz, Manzoor Alam Beg, Golam Kasem, Martin Parr, Raghu Rai, Sebastiao Salgado.
• Painting and Sculpture : Polly Hope, Saeeda Kamal, Hamiduzzaman Khan, Nasima Khan, Nadia Andaleeb Preema, Abu Selim.
• Workshops : Centre for Asian Theatre, Autograph London.
• Cartoon : Naji al-Ali, International Feminist Cartoon Exhibition.

Contact email

office@drik.net

Gallery Space