In a testament of how the power of art can transcend linguistic and cultural barriers, allowing the world to communicate and connect on a profoundly human level to ensure the nature of coexistence in society - the 10th Geoje International Art Festival is being held in Busan, South Korea, where Bangladeshi artists brought glory for their motherland. 11 Bangladeshi well-known artists and their artworks were selected for the 10th Geoje International Art Festival for the Haegeumgang Theme Museum. A total of 341 artists from 56 countries participated in the first-ever virtual jury process of artwork selection for the one-of-a-kind museum, where all artworks were selected and voted virtually and will be in the museum’s permanent collection. Out of 273 chosen artworks, only 18 works were shortlisted for the prestigious “Excellence Award” - and three Bangladeshi artists - Abu Kalam Shamsuddin, Azmeer Hossain and Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos Atelier71 Artistic Director Sourav Chowdhury, were voted and received the honour for Bangladesh, from 56 countries. Apart from the awardees, the other Bangladeshi renowned artists who participated in the art festival are Rokeya Sultana, Vinita Karim, Anukul Mojumder, Ratnashwar Sutradhar, Tahmina Hafiz Lisa, Mahadi Masud, Asma Akbar and Nazia Andaleeb Preema. Their artworks will be on display for the museum’s permanent collection. Nazia Andaleeb Preema is the distinguished juror and curator for Bangladesh who believes “Coexistence is the only way to exist” while Heidi Fosli is the jury president for the festival. Sharing her experience with UNB, Preema said: “The theme of the 10th Geoje International Art Festival was ‘Language of Coexistence’ - and I believe ‘Coexistence is the only way to exist’ - means that we need to collaborate to ensure our peaceful and meaningful existence in this world. This exhibition was a perfect example of that, where the artists did not compete but elevated themselves while getting to know each other, upholding their respective country's name with glory. It was a remarkable experience for us, the Bangladeshi artists - and we have learned a lot.” Read: Goethe-Institut, AFD host Jazz evening in Dhaka “As one of the 21 international jurors from 20 countries worldwide and the curator for our Bangladeshi artists, I got to observe closely how South Korea is creating a great example of coexistence for art, culture and technology,” Preema continued. “We must keep in mind that we are now living in the era of AI - and South Korea is one of the leading countries in terms of advancing modern technology. This was the first-ever virtual jury process of artwork selection for a museum, and apart from their world-famous Korean hospitality, they really know how to honour art and artists, something that we can learn from them even better,” Preema told UNB, adding that soft power like art is a very critical discourse to brand Bangladesh as a nation, as it deals with culture, identity and creative leadership. The inauguration of the festival commenced on November 6th, and the award-winning artists from Bangladesh joined the prestigious gala and reunion of artists, curators, museum directors and galleries from all over the world. After returning from that ceremony, Sourav Chowdhury told UNB that it had been a tremendous experience altogether for many reasons.