However, throughout the year of 2019, several organisations arranged many national and international festivals and exhibitions, celebrated spirits of youth with special concerts and observed many turning events in Bangladesh- making 2019 as one of the greatest years in arts and culture.
Here we look back at some of the special festivities (barring cinema related events) took place in 2019, and the upcoming festivities in 2020.
The very first enormous cultural festivity of 2020 kicked off at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on Friday, January 3 with raising the curtain of Bangladesh Cultural Festival. The ongoing, 21 day-long festival is being participated by performers from all 64 districts and 64 upazilas.
Speaking of BSA, the organization has undertaken and been executing numerous plans to celebrate the ‘Mujib - Year’ in style. Already it has organized special art camps, took the initiative of presenting hundred memorial lectures and special exhibitions on Bangabandhu; arranging book reading sessions, staging dramas on Bangabandhu for children, youths and adults including plays such as ‘Mujib Mane Mukti’ across the nation, five short films on Bangabandhu and five documentaries, two dance dramas and two ‘Jatra Pala’ shows (traditional stage drama), releasing album with pictures of Bangabandhu and constructing sculpture of Bangabandhu.
The schedule also include some other programmes, such as- making choreography on 100 poems and songs written on Bangabandhu, publishing 10 research books, making 100 performance arts, releasing several CDs and organizing ‘Bangabandhu Festival’ at 64 districts.
As per the programmes, Shilpakala Academy’s district offices are staging 64 dramas on Bangabandhu across the country. Five art camps been organized on portraying Bangabandhu in picture and several exhibitions were held with these artworks. 100 children created a floral garden at the mausoleum of Bangabandhu, in the month of August in 2019.
In addition to BSA’s homage to Bangabandhu, there had been a two-month-long special exhibition on the life and works of Prime Minister, titled ‘Sheikh Hasina: Bangladesh er Shwapno Sarathi’ (September 28 - December 15) at BSA which had to extend thrice due to the mass appeal.
In addition to these special events, the organization has been constantly arranging cultural extravaganzas such as the 23rd National Art Exhibition, 14th National Children’s Drama and Cultural Festival and numerous cultural programmes marking significant dates in 2019’s calendar- and the legacy is going to follow this year with global festivity like the upcoming Dhaka Art Summit on February 7-15, and 19th Asian Art Biennale in 2020.
Bangla Academy has been the most beloved cultural organization which arranged numerous literary festivities throughout the whole year. The yearly tradition of the much-awaited Ekushey Book Fair took place in February 2019, as usual. A total of 4,834 books were published in the fair and the publishers sold books worth around Tk 78 crore. The preparation of 2020 fair has already been started, and this year’s fair will have a special focus on Bangabandhu marking his birth centenary.
The other significant event the academy is associating since 2012, which is now being considered another traditional one- the Dhaka Lit Fest. 2019’s DLF saw the presence of renowned personalities around the globe as speakers, including Shashi Tharoor, Monica Ali and many more. Surprisingly the organizing committee has shifted the programme from November to January; therefore no DLF is happening in 2020- however, the organizers promised that the 2021 DLF will surpass the excellence.
Speaking of excellence, art galleries had been convening workshops and exhibitions for art enthusiasts throughout the year of 2019. One of the leading art galleries in the country, Gallery Cosmos, had showcased much acclaimed and successful exhibitions in 2019 including ‘Musicality in Wood’ (February 22 - March 5), a group art exhibition titled 'Life 2019' featuring 39 women artists (March 26 - April 9) and group art exhibition titled ‘Praccher Prachin Dhara’ (October 22 - November 10), which was dedicated to Cosmos-Atelier 71’s co-founder and adviser, Ekushey Padak winner artist Kalidas Karmakar whom the nation lost in October 18, 2019- just days before the exhibition took place.
Cosmos-Atelier 71 has arranged some of the significant initiatives throughout the year of 2019. A ceramic art workshop was held in July, titled '50 Artists, 100 Mugs'. A ten-day long solo art exhibition of eminent Indian artist Sukhamoy Majumder was held on August 26, at Cosmos-Atelier71 which was inaugurated by internationally renowned artist Shahabuddin Ahmed. The exhibition showcased 22 Artworks of the artist.
Young Japanese print-artist Toshihiko Ikeda conducted a special printmaking workshop titled ‘Line of Ages’ from April 5-7 (workshop 1) and April 10-15 (workshop 2) with the participation of 16 artists. It was followed by a Solo exhibition at BSA from April 19-29, jointly arranged by Cosmos-Atelier 71 and BSA- and a month-long exhibition in Cosmos-Atelier 71 from April 20 to May 20.
Another significant group exhibition was held at the Cosmos-Atelier 71 on April 6, titled Art Against Fake News, was organised by Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos-Atelier71 as part of Cosmos Dialogue on fake news and hate speech. The exhibition featured 30 artworks by 24 legendary artists including Mustafa Monowar, Rafiqun Nabi, Monirul Islam, Qayyum Chowdhury, Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Abdus Shakoor Shah, Hamiduzzaman Khan, Biren Shome, Kalidas Karmakar, Rokeya Sultana, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Nagarbasi Barman, Nasir Ali Mamun, Alakesh Ghosh, Anisuzzaman Anis, Bishwajit Goswami, Devdas Malakar, Maksuda Iqbal Nipa, Nazia Andaleeb Preema, Prashanta Karmakar, Abdul Gaffar Babu, Sourav Chowdhury and Toshihiko Ikeda.
In addition to all these amazing art workshops and exhibitions, Cosmos-Atelier 71 also initiated a great series of art-talks, titled ‘Cosmos Art Echo’. The series was inaugurated on 26 January, 2019 with the topic ‘Banglar Loko Chitrokola’, conducted by Artist Nisar Hossain. The second edition titled 'Me & My Generation' was conducted by legendary portrait photographer Nasir Ali Mamun. The third edition featured eminent Bangladeshi artist, painter, sculptor, radio performer, professor of fine arts and puppet maestro Mustafa Monwar who gave his speech under the title of 'Okajer Manush’- and the fourth edition of Cosmos Art Echo featured the Ekushey Padak winner artist, the guardian angel of the Cosmos-Atelier 71, artist Kalidas Karmakar under the title ‘Alluvial Soul and Beyond'.
Also in 2019, the Cosmos Group, country’s most prominent organization fostering the arts, economy and culture of Bangladesh, has also sponsored Bangladesh’s pavilion at the 58th International Art Exhibition ‘La Biennale di Venezia’ in Venice, Italy.
Speaking about the upcoming ventures, Sourav Chowdhury, Executive Artistic Manager of Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos-Atelier 71 informed UNB that a membership programme- a brand new initiative will be conducted in January 2020 which includes workshops with renowned national and international artists, a watercolour group exhibition featuring 20 promising and emerging artists and a lot of enthralling projects throughout the year.
Some of the other significant art exhibitions that took place in 2019 were ‘Chobi Mela X’, Asia's renowned photography exhibition and Satire magazine Unmad’s ‘Tribute to Mad Cartoon’, among other exhibitions. Venues such as National Art Gallery, Drik Gallery, Bengal Shilpalay, National Museum, Gallery Chitrak, Alliance Française de Dhaka, Gallery 27, Art Café, Edge Gallery, Liberation War Museum, Abinta Gallery of Fine Arts and other venues showcased numerous exhibitions in 2019 and a whole lot is waiting in 2019.
Country’s music scenario has explored a significant change in 2019. Legendary bands celebrated their glorious founding anniversary celebrations through numerous mega concerts, including Feedback and Miles’s 40 years and Artcell’s 20 years anniversary celebrations, Big Rock Day, Dhaka Rock Fest, Fuad Live, Arnob Live and a lot of other concerts with empowering the movement #nomorefreeconcert.
In addition to these concerts, the traditional and Asia’s grandest folk-music event ‘Dhaka International Folk Fest’s fifth edition was held at the Army Stadium from November 14-16. However, another much anticipated musical event ‘Bengal Classical Music Festival’ did not took place again because of the unavailability of the same venue.
Besides these concerts, organizations including Chhayanaut, BSA, Goethe Institute, Alliance Française de Dhaka, EMK Center etc. and venues like Jatra Biroti had arranged significant musical events with renowned national and international artists in 2019, and a lot other musical festivities are scheduled in their calendars of 2020.