Shadman Shahid is the Head of the Master Photography & Society programme and Interim Co‑Head of the Master Industrial Design at the Royal Academy of Art (KABK), The Hague. He has taught across several institutions, including Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, the Transformation Design programme at Willem de Kooning Academy, the Master of Visual Culture at AKV St. Joost, and both the Bachelor and Master photography departments at KABK. He also previously served as part of the Interim Directorate (AID) at the academy.
Alongside his academic leadership, Shadman is active internationally as a jury member, portfolio reviewer, and mentor to emerging photographers. He is a PhD candidate at PhDArts (Leiden University / KABK), where his current research investigates the potential of gazing as an act of defiance against the colonial gaze.
“Photography & Society is built on the foundation of collaboration, research, making, and social impact. I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to help build on a foundation that the department has initiated, and contribute to the aims we value. Drawing from my experience through extensive professional practice in the field of photography, I look forward to assisting in the development of this relatively young program, and fostering its success towards full adulthood. My focus is to sculpt an emphasis towards artistic and visual research as it functions on an MA-level at this academy – artistic research through making.”