Emphasizing the importance of drawing in the realm of postmodern arts, Gallery Cosmos organized the second edition of its exclusive daylong art event titled “The Passion of Drawing - 2” on Saturday at the Garden Gallery, Baridhara in the capital.

Six leading artistic stalwarts of the country including freedom fighter-painter Biren Shome, eminent indigenous artist Kanak Chanpa Chakma, art maestro Farida Zaman, veteran painter Abdus Shakoor Shah, contemporary artist Anukul Mojumder, and young artist Abdullah Al Bashir participated in this daylong event, showcasing their talent through live drawing sketches.

The second edition of this special event was supervised by Gallery Cosmos Director Tehmina Enayet and joined by a large number of eminent and influential personalities from home and beyond, including the Norwegian ambassador in Dhaka Espen Rikter-Svendsen.

Read: Gallery Cosmos to host 'The Passion of Drawing-2' on Saturday

From 11 am to 3 pm, the artists participated in live drawing sessions by drawing a florist woman, Kulsum, who makes garlands at the Shahbagh intersection and a local rickshaw-puller, Mohammad Belal, as the live models on their respective canvases. Accompanied by the majestic tune of flautist and artist Shamol Bishwas, the artists used charcoal, pencil, pastel, acrylic and mixed mediums on their canvases for projecting the live drawings.

After the sessions, the artists till 8 pm interacted with prominent and enthusiastic art admirers who came to visit the event and celebrate the togetherness of art and nature at the Garden Gallery’s beautiful, picturesque venue.

“Reviving the art form known as drawing has been our prime intention behind organizing the second edition of this special event, “The Passion of Drawing” by our Gallery Cosmos. We are grateful to our participating prominent Bangladeshi artists who showcased their brilliance through the live drawing sessions today in this beautiful setting accompanied by live music, and we are immensely proud to patronize our own arts through these wonderful drawing artworks,” Gallery Cosmos Executive Director Nahar Khan said, describing the event.

Veteran artist Abdus Shakoor Shah lauded the initiative for reviving the practice of life drawing. “Back in the days when we were students, we used to practice life drawing with models under the tutelage of our Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin. Drawing is the key to every art and it feels really good to explore that artistic vision once again, today at this event,” he told UNB.

Eminent indigenous artist Kanak Chanpa Chakma said, “This event somewhat became a refreshing breathing space for us, the artists; who are used to working on big canvases. Drawing is the root of all arts, and through the ambience, the art-admiring audiences and the overall hospitality of Gallery Cosmos, we have enjoyed reliving our drawing skills.”

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Kate Jaro Khan, Artistic Director of Gallery Cosmos said that the focus of the event was to present a unique art event with live works on life drawing, where the admirers can explore the journey together with the artists behind every artwork. “Our first event back in February received overwhelming responses, and the jovial participation of our eminent artists and art enthusiasts exceeded our expectations in this session as well,” she told UNB.

The idea behind this special series is to celebrate the artistic vision behind the drawing, and this event is set to continue as a regular drawing series, according to Gallery Cosmos Executive Artistic Manager Sourav Chowdhury.