A four-day long exhibition, Dhaka Art Week, was launched at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Wednesday. This is the first exhibition organized by Raiyaan Mahbub, CEO of Art Hawk, a youth initiative promoting art and artists.
Inaugurated by Planning Minister MA Mannan as the chief guest, the exhibition is free and open to all.
The unique exhibition showcases all forms of art including photographs, installation artwork, cartoons, sculptures, abstract, and surrealistic paintings and drawings, on mediums like print, paper, canvass, board, as well as, clothes.
All categories of artists, starting from national legends, seniors and professionals to emerging and amateurs, aged 15 years and over, have been brought together through a single platform through the event.
Mahbub, an Economics student at the University of Melbourne, organized the event by curating, showcasing collections, inviting artists, and selecting artworks through an online contest. All the exhibits are up for sale at a fixed price determined by the artists themselves.
When asked about his passion for art, Mahbub responded: “Art is something I am extremely passionate about, even though I am a student of Economics. Personally, I wanted to make the exhibition accessible to everyone, and did not want to impose a monetary barrier, so that our young generation gets more interested.”
Tasneem Islam Arna, a fourth year student of IBA, shared her thoughts about participating in the event: “This is the first time my work is being displayed. Usually it is very difficult for amateur artists to get a platform to showcase their work. In this regard, the Art Hawk team has done a great job in managing the event. After all, young people need to learn and appreciate art.”
Mohosin Kabir, an MA graduate of Oriental Art department of the Dhaka University (DU) Faculty of Fine Arts said: “My artwork explores life in nature through water color in wash painting. I have been participating in national and international events since 2009. Yet, I think, the exhibition is exceptional as it cannot be categorized as a solo, group or a competitive event.”
Imam Mahdi, a third-year undergraduate student of Department of Print Making of the same DU institute, highlights his experience as such: “I have used the zero wastage technique for my drawing as I only used 40% of an 8B pencil for the entire work. My project curator, Bishwajit Goswami guided me and it took 12 days. I feel extremely privileged to see my work beside prominent artists like Zainul Abedin, Hashem Khan, Kalidas Karmakar, Rokeya Sultana, etc.”
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Mahbub highlighted the overall itinerary of the event.
An open mic night took place on Thursday.
Today there was an interactive event, “Art for All by All-Triple A,” where visitors created and displayed their individual artworks by bringing their own materials.
Finally, on the closing day, which is Saturday, the visitors can meet the artists as they have been invited for the closing ceremony.
Most visitors attended the event over the weekend, although many people, including State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid, have already visited the exhibition.
Curated works by brilliant artists, such as Samarjit Roy Chowdhury and Rafiqun Nabi are also available at the exhibition.
The event has also been partnered by Aamari, Radio Shadin 92.4 FM, IFAD Multi Products Ltd, and Best Sourcing.