Mohammad Golchin, Iran

Do I take the bus or will Mum drive me to school? That’s a choice the children from the mountains near Talesh, Iran, haven’t even heard of. Here, in Iran’s Gilan province, they often have to take rather adventurous paths instead, walking for hours to get to tiny school buildings with classrooms the size of a chicken coop and the height of a mining tunnel. Or even just a piece of ground somewhere in a forest.

Iranian photographer Mohammad Golchin tells the story of schools and teachers that won’t give up on a single student. And of boys and girls for whom it is a great adventure to learn and understand letters and numbers, and who are not among the almost 60 million children worldwide who, according to UNICEF estimates, are not allowed to go to school at all.

Curriculum Vitae: Mohammad Golchin (Freelance Photographer)

Born
1975

Education
Guilan University, Iran – BA Forestry Engineering 1995 – 1999

Present Position
Freelance photographer, Teacher of photography at Iran young cinema Institute
Professional Affiliations
Member of the Iranian Photographers Center

Solo Exhibitions
1998 Rasht,Gilan, Soroush Gallery, Nature
2003 Shiraz University, Nature of Talesh
2004 Gilan University, News-Documentary
2006 Talesh, Talesh-Life
2006 Rasht, Artistic Institute,Man and Nature
2006 Italy, Nature of Talesh

Awards (selection)
1999, 2002 Special prize of UNESCO – Unesco photo contest
2002, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015 Gold medal of Asahi Shimbun (Japan) – Asahi photo contest
2003 Special prize of Photo Edolt (Poland)
2007 Prize of Poland MUSUEM and Special prize of Jury
2008 Honourable mention of FIAP (Child - Serbia)
2008 Pss Merit award – Singapore Photo Contest
2009 Two Gold medal of FIAP (Berega photo contest - Russia)
2009 Honourable mention of India (Photolovers photo contest -India)
2009 Sony photography award (First place of Music category-Professinal) – World photo
2010 First place digital category – Al-Thani photo contest
2015 HPA documentary award - Rural school in Iran (Collection)