As any seasoned traveler knows, the true secret to a city lies within its locals. And in Vienna, its residents are rich with creativity, breathing new life into it with avant-garde thinking and a visionary look towards the future. Filled with artists, architects, designers and gallerists of every sort, the creative scene is respectful of a shared past, drawing on history and tradition as the foundation with which to create something new.
Vienna itself serves as the most important starting point for artistic creation, whether conscious or not. With a shared identity comes shared references, culture, attitude, and yes, even humor. These are the things that the people would say are very uniquely Austrian. Don't miss out.
First stop: inside Gelitin's studio. As a student enrolled in pharmacy school in Bangladesh, Hamja became bewitched by foreign films, binge-watching the likes of Korean indie Bandhobi and Italian drama-comedy Cinema Paradiso.
Therein began his love for cinematography and, by proxy, photography. He became wholly dedicated to the craft, obsessively immersing himself in the realm of color, texture, light, and composition. With the ability to exaggerate or enhance details that would have otherwise been overlooked, Hamja brings the subtleties of everyday life into sharp focus.
By the end of his NYTimes fellowship, his work was featured on 18 covers and four front pages. Hamja and I hopped on FaceTime one evening in June, and from his sun-soaked Greenwich Village fire escape, he walked me through the trajectory of his career and what it takes to be what I consider a legend in the making. I can imagine that leaving your home country for an unknown place is a daunting endeavor.
