Sumi Anjuman’s odyssey through the rigid folds of Bangladesh’s Muslim conservative socio-cultural framework has been a relentless struggle, mirroring the silent storms encountered by countless women and gender-divergent collectives. These visceral experiences have attuned her to the gender-specific oppression that runs through shared memory. In response, she wields photography as a form of quiet resistance, illuminating voices long silenced, celebrating defiance, and embodying a nonviolent protest against the deep-rooted gender-specific violence woven into the breath and bone of society.
To realize this pursuit, Sumi embraces a distinctive documentary photography approach she calls “healing through creation” - a collaborative process with the subject matter that allows for the creation of layered visual narratives, challenges dominant discourses, and encourages audiences to rethink preconceived notions of context. She integrates staged photographs, hand-stitching on photographs, textual layers, moving visuals, re-photographic methods, and archival remnants to craft a visual narrative that transcends time and invites reflection, resistance, and a profound connection with the collective consciousness.
Sumi Anjuman is currently based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where she teaches at Counter Foto – A Centre for Visual Art. She holds a master's degree in Photography & Society from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, The Netherlands, and previously completed a three-year diploma in Photography at Pathshala South Asian Media Institute in Dhaka.
Exhibitions
• 2025 - 'Mama' by Kunstpalast Dusseldorf, Germany
• 2024 - FORMAT Festival, Leicester, UK
• 2024 - 10 SUR 10 by Fisheye Gallery, Arles, France
• 2024 – Solo Exhibition, titled ‘Wounds Healed, Tales Etched / দাগ’, presented by Sammlung Philara in Düsseldorf, Germany as part of the Düsseldorf photo+ Biennale for Visual and Sonic Media.
• 2024 – Encounters Of Young International Photography, Villa Perochon - CACP, Niort, France
• 2023 – Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh
• 2022 - Laureates of Carte Blanche Students 2022, co-organized by Paris Photo, France
• 2021 - ‘Pride Photo 2020’, Curiosity: The Compass to Our Passions, The Netherlands
• 2021 - Chobi Mela - ‘Shunno’, Bangladesh
• 2021 - ‘The Makeable Mind’, the Noorderlicht International Photo Festival, The Netherlands
Awards / Residencies
• 2023 - One of the fourth finalists of the '2022 W. Eugene Smith Student Grant'
• 2022 - One of the 4 Laureates of Carte Blanche Students 2022, co-organized by Paris Photo
• 2021 – Recipients of ‘Seed Awards’ of Prince Claus Fund
• 2020 - Winner in the Series category – ‘Pride Photo 2020’, Curiosity: The Compass to Our Passions
• 2020 – Selected as one of ‘Ones to Watch’ of British Journal of Photography
• 2020 – Selected as 'Top Photography Graduates to Watch’ of PHmuseum
• 2020 – Finalist for ‘The Alexia 2020 Student Grant’
• 2020 - OUC Workshop (International Documentary Workshop) in Nepal