By Jeremy Walsh
Reporters know him from countless news conferences, but they may not know that Shams Tarek, press secretary for City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), has a creative side, too. The 29-year-old Jamaica Estates resident recently opened “Bengali,” an exhibition of photographs taken in Bangladesh, at Espresso 77 in Jackson Heights, 35-57 77th St.
The show opened May 6 and will run through June 2. He chose a Jackson Heights venue, he said, because the neighborhood is a hub for city South Asian culture.
Tarek, born in Bangladesh, moved to the United States when he was 10 months old and grew up in Elmhurst. He took the photos during visits to the country in 2000 and 2006.
“Photography is one way in which I come to understand things,” he said, noting he previously worked as a newspaper reporter. “In this case, I can come to understand the people. As a Bengali American, I'm sort of at once Bengali and American and neither at the same time.”
The images are portraits of the Bengali population that reflect the “resilience of a people intimate with hardship and dignified in the anachronism of an ancient culture practiced in a rapidly changing nation,” Tarek said.
The idea for a show came to Tarek after Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh in November 2007, killing 3,300 people.
“I thought, 'I have these photographs that I've taken, and I don't have a lot of money, but I'd like to send some money that way.”
With that in mind, Tarek is devoting a portion of the proceeds to the Bangladesh Chief Adviser's Welfare and Relief fund for victims of Cyclone Sidr as well as several local aid groups.
“I wanted to help local organizations that are helping Bengalis and other South Asians,” he said, identifying South Asian Youth Action, an Elmhurst-based group providing sports activities and tutoring; CHAAYA Community Development Corporation, a homeowners counseling group; Andolan, a South Asian labor rights group; and the Manhattan-based Sakhi for South Asian Women, an anti-domestic violence group.
So far, he said, four prints have been sold.
Tarek said he hopes to have more photography shows.
“But I don't want the pictures to just be for their own sake,” he said. “I'd like to use photography to promote the causes and issues that I care about.”
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
