Hundreds of artists and over a hundred thousand visitors are expected to converge on the capital on Friday as the third edition of the Dhaka Art Summit, Asia's premier art biennale, kicks off.
Some 600 artists, curators, writers, art professionals and collectors are expected to participate in the largest non-commercial platform for South Asian art in the world.
“There will be seventeen solo projects curated by Samdani Art Foundation's Artistic Director Diana Campbell Betancourt. Other content includes five curated exhibitions, eight performances, a film programme, panel discussions and book launches,” Nadia Samdani, founder of the Dhaka Art Summit and co-founder of Samdani Art Foundation, said.
Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani, co-founders of the Samdani Art Foundation, officially announced the event at a press briefing in the National Art Gallery at Shilpakala Academy on Wednesday.
The Dhaka Tribune is the official media partner of the four-day art extravaganza that will run from February 5-8. Over a 150,000 visitors are expected to attend.
Rajeeb Samdani said: “The world is interested in South Asian Art and institutions and museums have shown an interest in South Asia's art scene, but due to a lack of art infrastructure in South Asia, a lot of the talent remains undiscovered.
“Unfortunately there was no platform dedicated to South Asian Art where people from all over the world could come and discover this vibrant art scene. We started Dhaka Art Summit to shine the light on South Asia's rich art and elevate it to the status it deserves.”
Nadia added: “For the first time, Dhaka Art Summit 2016 is introducing a historical section, 'Rewind', which will highlight the practices of South Asian artists active before 1980.”
Artists, curators, architects and writers from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan and elsewhere, who have links to South Asia, will participate in the event.
“This year we are dedicating two days for local schools to visit and experience the event,” Nadia said.
With young audiences in mind, there will be an interactive workshop for children conducted by Voluntary Artist's Studio, Thimpu.
Some 13 young artists have been selected for the Art Award Show from an applicant pool of over 300 local artists.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith will attend the inaugural event as chief guest. Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor and Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon will attend the opening event as special guests.
