The exhibition of the Morton Krogvold ‘s students work opened at the Asiatic Gallery of Fine Arts in Dhaka on the 25 January, 2011 – 5th day of the Chobi Mela VI – International Festival of Photography. The work is a result of a workshop conducted by Krogvold at the Festival.
No doubt it was a day of joy and triumph. The day belonged to the First Year students of Pathshala, South Asian Media Academy and their most loved and admired teacher Morton Krogvold.
Pathshala Students at the opening of their exhibition at the Asiatic Gallery of Fine Arts. Photograph Chulie de Silva
Chris Riley, a presenter and a visitor from U.S.A. describes it best: “…it was a euphoria of images that told of life and love, of death as life and of the sheer bloody brilliance of the human spirit. It is a body of work that is as unified as it is diverse, representing the innocence of young artists and the seriousness of their intent. Sure, they had been whipped into shape by their frustrated teacher but the whipping had been to a frenzy of creativity, personal, explicit and powerful. It was a joy to behold and, for me, the thrill of Chobi Mela. All the exhibitions of work are carefully curated and thought through. The talent is indeed international. But all of it is a background and stimulant for what is actually created here in Dhaka by an international group of students from far and wide. It is a hint of a future Dhaka, a city of light that is beginning to attract the storytellers of future history.”
Student Farzana Hossen with Morton Krogvold & Mr & Mrs Per Anders Rosenkvist. Behind them the exhibits of Farzana. Photograph Chulie de Silva
Faizal Azim the budding "Chobiwala" with Guru Morton Krogvold. Photograph Chulie de Silva
Visitors to the exhibition. Photograph Chulie de Silva
Chobi Mela has over the years survived through sheer ingenuity – “ By the skin of its teeth; “With seconds to spare”; “In the nick of time,” “ By a hair’s breadth”; “At the last possible moment;” “In the best possible way” — and yesterday was no exception. The photographs were printed, framed and hung in record time of 48 hours after a five day workshop. And then at the last possible moment it was discovered that the Chief Guest had forgotten about the invitation and was still at home. But in true Chobi Mela style, a phone with a good audio facility was found and he joined in by phone to declare the exhibition open.
Pleased as Punch, Shahidul Alam, Festival Director holds a mobile phone to the mike and the exhibition is declared opened by an apologetic unseen Chief Guest. Photograph Chulie de Silva
Sabhanaz Rashid Diya
Chulie de Silva
Studioriley
Chobi Mela VI Blog 
Thank you for bringing me up to date on how the teaching, exhibit and opening transpired; all with ingenuity.
Chulie, Shahidul, congratulations! And to all your colleagues in Dhaka too. It was touching, grounding and uplifting to see the Chobi Mela dancing on the streets. I loved the photo of Adnan. I’ve obviously spent the last few days like most people glued to Al Jazeera etc watching events in Egypt. A very different street presence but also not that different: perhaps in common there’s the hopefulness, the spark for what might be and as always the pictures that help us globally make sense of that, share outrage and interest, the yearning for something better. Thanks to all photographers, at the Chobi Mela in Dhaka and in Egypt for being there to bring us all your pictures.