
Ismail
Ismail Ferdous

biography

Bangladeshi photographer and videomaker born in 1989, member of the Agence VU’ since 2021, based in New York (USA).
Ismail Ferdous began to consider photography as a profession while studying business at East West University in Dhaka.
He visually documents social and humanitarian issues of the contemporary world. After the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Dhaka, one of the worst industrial disasters in Bangladesh that resulted in the death of more than 1100 workers in 2013, Ferdous initiated a plea against the devastating effects of the “fast fashion” industry on the Bangladeshi population with his projects The Cost of Fashion and After Rana Plaza.
In parallel to his personal documentary works, Ferdous has collaborated with numerous NGOs, media, or press organizations to develop projects that delve into topics that surround the subjects of climate change, natural disasters, access to health care, and refugee crises in countries within the Middle East, Europe, and South Asia. In 2016, he left Dhaka and moved to New York from where he continues his work and notably reports on the end of Trump’s presidency, among other subjects.
Ferdous is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Word Press Photo, two US National Photo Press Awards, the Manuel Ortiz Award for Documentary Photography and a National Geographic Explorer Grant. His work is regularly published in the international press and has been exhibited around the world, notably at Photoville (NYC USA), the United Nations Headquarters (Geneva), the Photolux Festival (Lucca, Italy), the Tokyo Photograph Art Museum (Japan) and at the Rencontres d’Arles (France).
Series


Sea Beach, 2020-2022

The people who feed US, 2020-2022

Migrants Stories, 2021

Transition of Power, 2021

Building a New American Dream, 2018

After Rana Plaza, 2015

Rana Plaza Collapse : The Cost of Fashion, 2013

New York City Waters, 2022

Sea Beach, 2020-2022

The people who feed US, 2020-2022

Migrants Stories, 2021

Transition of Power, 2021

Building a New American Dream, 2018

After Rana Plaza, 2015

Rana Plaza Collapse : The Cost of Fashion, 2013

New York City Waters, 2022

Sea Beach, 2020-2022

The people who feed US, 2020-2022

Migrants Stories, 2021

Transition of Power, 2021

Building a New American Dream, 2018

After Rana Plaza, 2015

Rana Plaza Collapse : The Cost of Fashion, 2013
Multimedia

The Deadly Cost of Fashion, 2015

The Deadly Cost of Fashion, 2015

The Deadly Cost of Fashion, 2015
Interviews
Ismail Ferdous talks about his exhibition “So we Exist”
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Interview made by International Labour Organization
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2015
The ILO hosted an exhibition by Bangladeshi photojournalist Ismail Ferdous to highlight the issues raised during the conference Regulating for Decent Work from 8-10 July 2015. In this interview, the artist talks about his exhibition “So we Exist”, his covering of the Rana Plaza factory collapse and the role of the arts in raising the voice and visibility of workers in the shadows.
Exhibitions
Sea Beach
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3rd Cargo Festival: Les Photographiques de Saint Nazaire
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From June 29 to October 1, 2023
awards

World Press Photo 2022, “Stories” – North and Central America
For his series “The People Who Feed US”
2022

National Geographic Explorer Grant
2020

The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation For Documentary Photography & Film – 2016 Photography Grant
For After Rana Plaza
2016

32nd American Photography Book
Selected
2016

The Getty Images Instagram grant & Film
For After Rana Plaza
2015

Days Japan International Photojournalism Award
3rd Prize For Stateless Beings
2015

National Press Photographers Association- Best of Photojournalism Award
3rd Prize
2014

Alexia Foundation Student Grant
Award of Excellence
2012

Winner Artist of World Bank Imagining Our Future Together
2012