A three-week-long virtual concert series styled as ‘The Horizon Sessions’ started its second week with a special concert ‘The Horizon Sessions: The Nationals’ on Friday, aimed to collect charity donations to support the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Super Cyclone Amphan affected people in Bangladesh

Supported by Friendship NGO, the concert was streamed live on ‘The Horizon Sessions’ Facebook page. The series is being hosted by students and alumni of Sunbeams School in honour of late Niloufer Manzur, the founding principal of the school.

Enthralling the online audiences who joined from home and beyond, singer Chotu Khan performed several English tracks including 'Crazy Love', 'Rippled', 'Hallelujah' etc. - which were followed by the renowned drummer of legendary Bangladeshi band ‘Renaissance’, singer-composer Pilu Khan along with his son Dameer Khan, one of the organizers of the initiative. The father-son duo entertained the audiences with popular scores including 'He Bangladesh, Tomar Boyosh Holo Koto', 'Accha Keno Manushgulo', 'Ajker Shishu' etc.

Following their melodious renditions, singer and keyboardist Naquib Khan performed 'Orey Chhotobelar Sathi', 'Ei Mukhorito Jiboner Cholar Pothe', 'Valo Laage Jochhona Raate', A Chittagonian song titled 'Aaron Deshset Jaiyun' and 'Mon Shudhu Mon Chhuyechhe'.

The showstopper of night one, trailblazing Bangladeshi singer-music composer Habib performed 'Raat Nirghum', 'Omor Premer Kahini', and 'Prithibir Joto Shukh'. 

During the performances, donors from home and abroad donated in this noble initiative, the organizers informed. The performing artists also urged the audiences to donate for the initiative.

The online music festival, kicked off on June 26, featured Zahra Zillur, Saif Anam, Sharaf Momen, Azaan Khan, Wasti Farzana Khan, Ashreen Mridha, Ace, Ayman Raakin, Shayan Husain, and Shafaat Mridha during its first week.

Night two of the festival’s second week will feature popular Bangladeshi music artist Arnob, Zohad Reza Chowdhury, Tashfee and Imran Rahman on Saturday 7.30 pm. 

The donations collected from the series of virtual concerts will go towards building COVID-19 testing booths in rural areas and rebuilding homes, reservoirs, and embankments destroyed by Cyclone Amphan in the southern parts of Bangladesh. 

Anyone can contribute to the cause by donating through Bkash and Nagad numbers given on The Horizon Sessions Facebook page. For international donations, bank account numbers are also given on the page along with a ‘GoFundMe’ campaign.

International Watercolor Society Bangladesh has organised its 1st National Online Watercolor Exhibition 2020 ‘Touches of Color’.

The two-day long exhibition began on Monday on the Facebook Page of IWS Bangladesh Exhibition and its YouTube channel, said a press release.

The IWS organised the exhibition to promote and popularize watercolour/water media in every part of the world, said IWS founding president Mr Atanur Dogan.

IWS Bangladesh branch head Md Kauser Hossain said IWS has been organizing events to promote watercolour.

Around 125 Bangladeshis including 20 renowned guest artists have participated in watercolour exhibition, he informed.

IWS has been arranging 10 demonstrations, five in each day, on the YouTube channel of IWS Bangladesh.

The top five artworks of this event will be selected by a prestigious jury board while each participant will get a participation certificate.

The international platform is a non-profit organization which was established in January 2012 with the objective of promoting the world’s oldest and most deeply rooted painting technique; the art of watercolor.

The headquarters of IWS is situated in the ancient city of Teos, Turkey on the eastern shores of the Aegean Sea.

Gallery Cosmos is going to organise the first-ever online live art camp on June 8 in association with 'Hidden Her Foundation' and Cosmos Foundation to raise funds for coronavirus victims.

With the theme ’Brightening The Spirits With Art’, the art camp is going to portray six of the most renowned Bangladeshi artists who will go live from 11am to 5pm through video calling app ‘Zoom’ on the Gallery Cosmos Page on Facebook - all at the same time but from their own studios.

The six art maestro of the country - Mustafa Monwar, Biren Shome, Mohammad Eunus, Kanak Champa Chakma, Anisuzzaman Anis and Bishwajit Goswami - will create two paintings each. They will also talk about their paintings, current situation, social awareness and other art-related topics. Moderators will host the events on behalf of the Gallery.

Cosmos Foundation and Sunehra Z Islam, Founder, Hidden Her Foundation will complete further procedures going forward with selling the artworks in order to raise funds for those affected by the pandemic.

“At a time when the entire world is literally captive at the hands of a pandemic, Gallery Cosmos, in association with Hidden Her Foundation & Cosmos Foundation, is set to break barriers with the country‘s first-ever online, or virtual art camp, taking advantage of the technological advances at our disposal,” artist Sourav Chowdhury, Executive Artistic Manager of Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos Atelier71, told UNB.

Also read: Coronavirus: Gallery Cosmos to host first-ever Online Live Art Camp

Over the course of the last few decades, Galley Cosmos has dedicated itself to lending a platform to various mediums of art rooted in Bangladesh, as well as those influenced from far-off lands.

Hundreds of unique and diverse artworks on various genres by talented artists were exhibited at the Gallery Cosmos.

Viewers and art enthusiasts can join this virtual art camp through the gallery’s official Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/GalleryCosmos/?__tn__=%2Cd%2CP-R&eid=ARBxIRBnOkeU9ey7fwtZUFMWtR-GLnG5EZVE9YuG9s12NchY-a5dLB31hSJPSyf0rczwD1R81-kNWwS6.

Bangladesh on Saturday confirmed the detection of 2,635 new cases across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the total confirmed cases to 63,026. During the same period, 35 more patients died from COVID-19, raising the death toll to 846.

Also read: Coronavirus in Bangladesh: 2,635 new cases, 35 deaths recorded in 24 hrs

The 121st birth anniversary of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was observed in the country on Monday.

But unlike previous years, there was no public function this year because of the coronavirus outbreak. The day also coincided with Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest festival of the Muslims.

Born on May 25, 1899 at Churulia village in Burdwan district of West Bengal in India, Nazrul had inspired people to fight against injustice and repression of the colonial rule through his writings.

Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar aired various programmes on the occasion.

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages highlighting the colourful life of the poet and his contributions to Bangla language and literature.

In his message, the President said, “Nazrul’s write-ups inspired us to join all democratic movements and battles, including the anti-British movement, the Language Movement, the mass uprising in 1969, and the Liberation War.”

He expressed his belief that the immortal presence of Nazrul will keep the Bengali nation alive forever.

In her message, the Prime Minister said, “We must continue to work together to build a secular, non-discriminatory, peaceful, happy and prosperous Bangladesh following the lifestyle of the Rebel Poet.”

The 159th birth anniversary of the Rabindranath Tagore will be celebrated  on Friday.

Tagore was a poet, visual artist, playwright, novelist, as well as a composer whose works reshaped Bangla literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Born on May 7, 1861 at Jorasanko mansion in Kolkata, he was the youngest of 13 surviving children of Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi.

He became Asia's first Nobel laureate after winning the Nobel Prize in literature for Gitanjali in 1913.

Two of his songs are now the national anthems of Bangladesh and India.

Tagore wrote novels, short stories, songs, dance-dramas, and essays on political and personal topics. Gitanjali, Gora, and Ghare-Baire, Chokher Bali are among his best-known works.

Also read: Stories by Rabindranath Tagore: Entertaining Drama to watch on Netflix during Coronavirus home quarantine

President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on the occasion.

Bangladesh Television and other private television channels and Bangladesh Betar will air special programmes highlighting the life and works of Rabindranath.