Today (August 10) marks the 101st birth anniversary of legendary Bangladeshi artist SM Sultan, born on August 10, 1924 in Machimdia village of Narail, Bangladesh.
The birth centenary of the revered artist will be celebrated through a two-year programme featuring discussions, exhibitions, book publications and research initiatives, organisers announced these on Saturday evening at Bengal Shilpalay in the capital’s Dhanmondi.
The inaugural event, a discussion titled 'The Legacy of Artist Sultan: Imagination, Beauty and the Politics of Uplifting the Common Man', was organised by the SM Sultan National and International Birth Centenary Celebration Committee.
Ekushey Padak-winning eminent photographer and Member Secretary of the committee Nasir Ali Mamun, in his welcome speech, said the centenary festivities had been stalled last year due to the post-uprising situation of the country in August 2024.
“This year, we are beginning a series of activities that will continue over two years, including art and photography exhibitions, seminars, symposiums, workshops and the SM Sultan Memorial Lectures,” Mamun said, adding that books on the artist’s life, works and philosophy would be published throughout the celebrations.
A video documentary by Mamun featured tributes from late sculptor Hamiduzzaman Khan; eminent artists Mustafa Monwar, Farida Zaman, Rokeya Sultana, Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, Kanak Chanpa Chakma; 1952 Language Movement veteran Ahmed Rafiq; writer Hasan Azizul Haq; educationist Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed; researcher Badruddin Umar; art critic Moinuddin Khaled; and researcher Shahman Moishan, among others.
This was followed by the unveiling of the book 'Sultan Khonon', edited by Mamun.
Dhaka University Professor-researcher Dr Shahman Moishan delivered the keynote speech, calling Sultan as an artist who rejected colonial cultural structures and modernist conventions to develop his own visual language rooted in humanity.
“Full of adventure and thrill — moving from town to town, sometimes suddenly disappearing and reappearing — Sultan’s life is for us wrapped in mystery, illusion and curiosity; we see how Tareque Masud’s film 'Adam Surat' and Nasir Ali Mamun’s photographs capture that inward mystery. Sultan fashioned a mythic persona within history that mirrors the common people, and his life should be studied with utmost care," Shahman said.
Committee convenor and artist Monirul Islam highlighted Sultan’s distinctive portrayal of muscular human figures without conventional backgrounds or shading. “In his paintings, Sultan depicted people with powerful musculature; his works do not employ conventional backdrops or shading, yet this self-taught artist forged his own distinctive style,” Monirul said.
Bengal Foundation Chairman Abul Khair, Sultan’s disciple Bimanesh Biswas, art critic Prof Abdus Sattar, Prof Abul Mansur and art critic Mustafa Zaman also spoke at the event.
