The registered organization Photozium Foundation officially commenced its operations on Saturday (October 12) through the inaugural meeting of its nine-member board of trustees held in Dhaka. Promoted as South Asia's pioneering photograph-centric museum, the institution aims to preserve historical and cultural narratives through visual art.
Ekushey Padak-winning renowned photographer and pioneer of portrait photography in Bangladesh, Nasir Ali Mamun, established the foundation and will lead the trustee board as its lifetime president. The initiative to establish this specialized museum in the capital is being realized through crowd-funding.
Founding organizers emphasized that a photograph transcends a mere image, encapsulating human lives, socio-political realities, and historical milestones. Photozium is envisioned as a public welfare cultural institution dedicated to preserving humanity, time, and history for future generations, rather than functioning merely as an individual exhibition space.
The permanent collection and exhibition blueprint will feature curated portraits, autographs, manuscripts, diaries, letters, and unique artifacts of prominent figures from Bangladesh and across the globe, alongside self-portraits and paintings by distinguished personalities. Furthermore, the museum will permanently preserve and exhibit unpublished audiovisual materials, gelatin silver prints, and rare negatives amassed by founder Nasir Ali Mamun over six decades.
Alongside President Nasir Ali Mamun, the executive responsibilities of the nine-member board include social worker Mir Mainul Omar as general secretary and social worker K M Haris Adil as treasurer.
Other distinguished members of the trustee board comprise fiction writer and journalist Anisul Hoque, poet Bimal Guha, journalist and author Mohammad Abdul Hai Siddique, researcher and folklorist Simon Zakaria, researcher and essayist Kudrat-e-Huda, and engineer Fakir Mohammad Abdul Mannan.
In a press release, the foundation appealed to culturally conscious individuals, entrepreneurs, and institutions both domestically and internationally to extend financial and direct cooperation toward the establishment of the specialized photography museum.
