Lima, Sep 11 (AP/UNB) — Peru is celebrating the return of an ancient funeral mask made of gold following a two-decade legal battle to repatriate the smuggled antiquity from Germany.

President Martin Vizcarra on Monday attended a ceremony at the presidential palace where the so-called Sican mask was shown publicly for the first time since its return to the South American nation.

The 8th century mask depicting a pre-Incan deity was seized in 1999 in Germany from a Turkish art dealer arrested for selling looted objects. It was handed over last week to Peru's embassy in Berlin.

The mask made of hammered gold alloy with silver eyes is one of the most emblematic of 9,000 art objects Peru has repatriated the last decade.

Authorities believe the mask was taken from Peru in the late 1990s.

Dhaka, Sept 9 (UNB) - Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) will host an evening of Nazrul Sangeet, Rabindra Sangeet and modern songs by Debolina Sur on Monday evening at Kabi Sufia Kamal auditorium of Bangladesh National Museum in the city.

Debolina Sur belongs to a wonderful cultural family background and this leads her going forward with music. 

As a child artist she achieved so many awards and National awards too “Natun Kuri” is one of them. 

She went to Visva Bharati University of Shantiniketan and there she completed her Modern Music (Honors) with Rabindra Sangeet. 

She achieved first class there. She had a great opportunity to learn music personally from Swastika Mukherjee, Gora Sarbadhikari, Vasabi Mukherjee.

Entry for the event is open to all and there is no need to collect invitation pass, said a press release.
 

New York, Sept 8 (AP/UNB) — John Lennon's iconic round glasses and shaggy 1970s mane will now adorn a U.S. stamp.

Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, and their son, Sean Lennon, were in New York City's Central Park Friday to celebrate the U.S. Postal Service's release of a stamp honoring the late Beatle. Hundreds of Beatles fans gathered for the event.

"I know that my father would have been really thrilled to be accepted, officially in this way, on a stamp," said Sean Lennon. "About as official as it gets, I think."

The commemorative stamp features a photo of Lennon taken in 1974 on the roof of his Manhattan apartment building by photographer Bob Gruen, who also spoke at the event. The stamp is designed to look like a 45-rpm record sleeve.

"Everybody loves to listen to John's songs and I'm very proud of it, but also the fact that this day, Imagine and you guys are here. It's incredible," Yoko Ono said.

She also joked about the blame she gets for breaking up the Beatles.

"If John just went with me and then he began, 'La La La, Da Da Da' or something like that, people say, 'Well, that's Yoko's fault,'" she said. "Well, it's always my fault."

The crowd received her warmly though, giving her a standing ovation.

"I always knew how much he loved her," said Donna Gallucci who came from Pennsylvania for the event. "A lot of people didn't understand that."

After the event, people lined up to buy the stamps and enjoy one more day of Beatlemania in New York City.

Gallucci said, "He was so much a part of the city, so much a part of the park."

 Dhaka, Sept 7 (UNB) – Mrinmoy Bangla, a group art exhibition of four young artists featuring a rich collection of water colour paintings depicting the beauty and nature of Bangladesh, kicked off at the Mohakhali DOHS chapter of Gallery Cosmos on Friday. 

Thai Ambassador to Bangladesh Panpimon Suwannapongse inaugurated the exhibition as the chief guest.

Addressing the occasion, the Thai envoy appreciated the artworks of the young artists.

A total of 45 artworks of the four artists -- Juton Chandra Roy, Suman Kumar Sarkar, Kamruzzoha and Maneek Bonik, who mainly work with water colour to portray the natural landscape beauty of Bangladesh, have been put on display at the 15-day long show.

"We, the four participating artists, work on landscape of both urban and rural beauty of the country," said Juton Chandra Roy.

The artists in their works tried to bring out the culture, lifestyle and natural beauty of different regions of the country, he added. 

Gallery Cosmos Chairman Enayetullah Khan said an affinity with nature remains one of the mainstays of Bangladeshi artistic inspiration. 

Depicting nature in water colour is perhaps the most quintessential form of art from Bangladesh, he said, adding that through such exhibition, Gallery Cosmos looks to shine a light on the present generation artists' engagement with nature.

In the presence of Panpimon Suwannapongse, who is also an artist, Khan also talked about possible initiatives which can be taken as part of the cultural exchange between Bangladesh and Thailand. 

Suman Kumar Sarkar, another participating artist, said the arrangement of such an exhibition encourages the young artists greatly. 

Gallery Cosmos Director Tehmina Enayet said Bangla word 'mrinmoy' means something out of clay and the four young artists painted the artworks out of their passion and thought for the nature, making the works exceptional. 

Talking about the artworks, prominent artist Kalidas Karmakar said water colour has developed a unique style in Bangladesh over time. But to promote Bangladeshi art and nature on the world stage, the style needs to be upgraded, he said.

Mentioning that water colour mainly belongs to the Asian region, especially the subcontinent, he also urged the young generation artists to experiment more and go one step ahead for more advanced and contemporary ways to bring out the nature of Bangladesh through water colour. 

The exhibition will remain open from 12pm to 8pm every day until September 27. 

Dhaka, September 4 (UNB) – The country’s premier printmaking studio, Cosmos-Atelier71, was formally re-launched on Tuesday after renovation works, in an effort to make it an international standard art studio.

It was inaugurated by Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, who was the programme’s chief guest, while special guests included observers of the ongoing 18th Asian Art Biennale, Professor Emeritus Tetsuya Noda and Dr Marek Bartelik, famed artists Jogen Chowdhury, Kalidas Karmakar, Bishwajit Goswami and Chairman of Cosmos-Atelier71 Enayetullah Khan.

Chairman of Cosmos-Atelier71 Enayetullah Khan welcomed the foreign dignitaries from the Asian Art Biennale and thanked everyone for attending the inauguration ceremony of the studio.

He said that the studio is an excellent place to collaborate and share knowledge between artists.

Asaduzzaman Noor thanked everyone for making this event a success and wished to see quality outputs from the studio in the next Biennale.

Artist Jogen Chowdhury thanked Enayetullah Khan and those behind Cosmos-Atelier71 for setting up a studio aiming to elevate the passion of artists rather than keeping it for commercial purposes.

In ten years, he anticipated great outputs from the studio and stressed that the society needs more people like the studio authorities for the greater good.

Biennale observer and Professor Emeritus of Tokyo University Tetsuya Noda heard previously only heard about the studio but was amazed to see it for the first time in person.

Fellow observer and art critic Dr Marek Bartelik said that the studio will remain as a standout achievement for printmaking in Bangladesh in the years to come.

Kalidas Karmakar, who is in charge of Cosmos-Atelier71, urged all artists to try out the studio as it will help them attain better knowledge about printmaking and other genres of art.

The event was attended by eminent Bangladeshi artists such as Syed Jahangir, Biren Shome, Alakesh Ghosh, Abdus Shakoor Shah, as well as international artists whose works are currently exhibiting at the Asian Art Biennale.

They were all later taken on a tour throughout the revamped studio, to have a look at the upgraded facilities and equipments Cosmos-Atelier71 has to offer to artists.

With the objective of upholding international standards, Cosmos Atelier71 is an integral part of the artistic vision Cosmos Group seeks to serve, in the form of a printmaking studio housing state-of-the-art equipment that is extremely rare in Bangladesh.

It aims to break new grounds by acting as an incubator for the emergence of the graphical arts in Bangladesh.

They also offer residency programme for leading artists from around the world where they can experiment with alternative methods and materials.

This combination of residency programme, Gallery Cosmos and their printmaking facilities makes Cosmos Atelier71 one of the most desirable destinations for contemporary arts in South Asia.