Md. Zobayer Hossain Joati, a Bangladeshi photographer, was awarded the coveted Alexia Grant for his project “We Live to Fight.”
On April 19, the names of the grant recipients were revealed, and Zobayer, a Counter Foto student, was one of the student grant recipients.
Participants from 54 nations applied for professional and student grants this year. Jurors Gail Fletcher of The Guardian, Nicole Werbeck of NPR, and David Gonzalez of The New York Times chose the winners. Whitney C Johnson, National Geographic’s VP of visuals and immersive experiences, moderated the judging process.
Joati is enrolled in the ‘Professional Diploma in Photography’ program at Counter Foto, a visual arts center in Dhaka’s East Shewrapara. As the winner of the student award, he will get a cash prize as well as a Sony camera system.
He will receive a tuition and fee fellowship to enroll in three courses during a semester at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications in New York, as well as a paid position as a research assistant to the Alexia Chair.
The journalism and communication faculty of Syracuse University ranks 1st in the US and the visual and performing art faculty of this university was the first ever visual art faculty in the US.
