SA Helal selected for Joop Swart Masterclass

Bangladeshi photographer Samsul Alam Helal has been selected for the prestigious international platform for young photographers, Joop Swart Masterclass 2016. Organized by World Press Photo, the programme announced the 12 young photographers of 11 different nationalities in its 23rd edition, says a press release.

World Press Photo's nominating committee selected 167 young photographers this year, who were invited to submit their portfolios. Only 12 young photographers were selected and the selection committee reflected on this year's candidate portfolios: 

Samsul Alam Helal is a documentary photographer based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He completed his professional programme on photography from Pathshala South Asian Media Institute. Many of his works has been exhibited at Dhaka Art Summit (2016), The Bronx Museum of the Arts (2015) New York, Noortherlicht Photo festival (2015) Netherlands, Encounter Da imagem (2015) Portugal, Eye on Bangladesh (2014) New York, and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art (2013) Sunderland, Chobi Mela International Photography Festival (2013) Bangladesh and Festival of Promenades Photographiques (2013) France.

Founded in 1994, the Joop Swart Masterclass has brought together some of the finest young photographers from around world, and leading professionals in the fields of documentary photography and photojournalism. So far, six Bangladeshi photographers have got selected for this prestigious programme, with the previous winners being: GMB Akash (2002), Munem Wasif (2007), Andrew Biraj (2008), Saiful Huq Omi (2010) and Sarker Protick (2014).