Following the resounding success of a nine-day long (March 6-14, 2020) art exhibition titled “Ora Egaro Jon”, Bangladesh Artweek has announced its first virtual charity auction for the benefit of artists, musicians, sportspersons and support staff affected by Covid-19.
The auction will be held, online, on Friday, June 19, 2020 at 8:00pm, Bangladesh standard time and will be conducted by eminent senior banker Anis A. Khan, who is also a keen art enthusiast and patron.
The auction will feature paintings by renowned artists like Monirul Islam, Mahmudul Huq, Mohammad Eunus, Jamal Ahmed, Mohammad Iqbal, Rokeya Sultana, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Dilara Begum Jolly, Preema Nazia Andaleeb, Firoz Mahmud, Vinita Karim, Asma Akber, Farzana Haque and Sanjoy Das, and sculptures by Hamiduzzaman Khan and Ivy Zaman.
The Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh H. E. Rina P Soemarno Yuwono has also donated one of her artworks for the good cause.
Also included are sports memorabilia like a cricket bat autographed by all the captains of the World Cup 2019, which has been donated by the former captain of Bangladesh, Akram Khan, and a t-shirt autographed by the legendary West Indian cricketer Brian Lara during his last series against Bangladesh, donated by former skipper Habibul Bashar.
Bashar has also donated a jersey from the first ever Test match win in 2005, bearing his and his team’s autographs and with the score sheet printed on it, making it a unique part of our cricket heritage.
Mohammed Ashraful, former captain of Bangladesh, donated the jersey he wore in the World Cup 2007.
This jersey is signed by the whole team.
There will also be memorabilia from the musical world, like a 40-year old historic bass guitar, donated by co-founder of BAW, Mohammed Mohsin, and two vinyl records signed by the great singer Lionel Richie and Billy Joel, donated by Razwanur Rahman.
Guests from all walks of life are invited to participate in the online auction and place their bids.
Founder of Bangladesh Artweek, Niharika Momtaz said, “As it is a unique virtual charity auction for a great cause, it has already created a great enthusiasm, globally. The Bangladeshi community and a number of non-resident Bangladeshis have also shown keen interest to participate in this unique event”.
Co-founder Mohammed Mohsin mentioned that "already 369,000 posts and 158,000 video views have been made this week on our online page on facebook".
Anis, the auctioneer, said he is feeling very excited about the endeavor launched by Niharika and Mohsin and looking forward to a successful auction, resulting in much needed support for the affected artists.