The month-long '6th National Sculpture Exhibition 2024', organised by the Fine Arts Department of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA),  began on Saturday. One of the flagship events of BSA, the sculpture exhibition was inaugurated by Sharmin S Murshid, adviser to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs. Eminent sculptor Hamiduzzaman Khan, Director General of Bengal Foundation Luva Nahid Chowdhury, and Chittagong University teacher-sculptor Atiqul Islam were present as special guests. The chairman's speech was delivered online by the BSA Director General Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed, while Mustafa Zaman, Director of the Fine Arts Department, delivered the welcome speech at the event. The first sculpture exhibition was organized in 1982 by the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy with the aim of continuously encouraging and developing the practice of sculpture. 'Joke er Rajneeti': When stand-up came to Shilpakala This year, the number of participating artists is 216, and 178 works of art in different categories by 159 artists are being exhibited. A total of 13 awards, including 10 honorary awards, were presented at the inaugural ceremony. This time, the 6th National Sculpture Award went to Dr Azharul Islam Sheikh Chanchal, the second prize went to Abdul Khalek Chowdhury, and the third place went to Bilash Mondal. Among the recipients of honorary awards are Asim Halder Sagar, Rupam Roy, Alok Kumar Sarkar, Abu Sadayat Md. Sohel, Amit Koch, Asfiqur Rahman, Syed Tarique Rahman, Habiba Akhtar Papia, Kanak Kumar Pathak and Srabanti Meherun. At the same time, a multimedia 360-degree VR (Virtual Reality) version of the exhibition was also inaugurated at Gallery 05 of the Academy's National Art Gallery building under the management of the BSA Production Department. The exhibition is open to everyone and will run at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy from December 21, 2024 to January 20, 2025, daily from 11 am (3 pm on public holidays) to 8 pm.

Eminent cultural figure and academic Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed, who was appointed as the Director General (DG) of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on September 9, has had his position elevated to the rank and status of a government secretary. This historic upgrade marks the first time in the academy's history that its DG holds such an elevated status. The Ministry of Public Administration announced the elevation through a gazette notification issued on November 21 under the directive of the President. The notification, signed by Abul Hayat Md Rafique, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, stated that the decision was made in the public interest. Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed, a noted playwright and theatre director, joined as DG for a two-year term, subject to severing ties with other institutions. Previously, the DG position carried the rank of Additional Secretary.

On Saturday evening, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) hosted a unique 'Acrobatic Show' at the National Theatre Hall auditorium in the capital. The acrobatic show was organized by the Theater and Film Department of BSA, as the academy is currently working in a variety of methods to advance the popular acrobatic art form. The acrobatic team of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, which received special training from China, presented several enthralling performances featuring Rope Round Bill, Ariel Hoop, Blanket Balance, Barrel Balance, Chair Setting, Mount Skill, Diabo Balance, Fire/Bump, Ring Dance, Roller Balance, Ring Jump and more. At the event, the Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed said, "The art of Acrobatics has gained wide popularity for several hundred years. It was mentioned in "Mahua Pala" written in 1650, proving that acrobatics was already popular before that period; but today, its remnants survive somewhere in a dilapidated condition - and the circus that was popular during the British period is hardly seen today.” "Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy thanks the state and people of China for helping to revive this almost lost heritage of Bangladesh, and I request our trained acrobats and their instructors to make acrobatics a part of our heritage. I also want the audience to stand by the circus, because Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy can take the circus back to a strong position with your undivided support,” Syed Jamil concluded.. The program was broadcast live from the official Facebook page of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy.  

A Dhaka court has issued a travel ban on Liaquat Ali Lucky, the former Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, in response to a petition from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The order was passed on Sunday by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Mohammad As-Sams Jaglul Hossain following a request made by ACC Assistant Director Afnan Jannat Keya, who sought to prevent Liaquat Ali Lucky from leaving the country. ‘Recruitment forgery’: ACC files case against 24 including Shilpakala ex-DG Lucky According to the petition, Liaquat Ali Lucky is under investigation by a four-member ACC team for allegations of bribery, employment-related corruption, abuse of power, and embezzlement of hundreds of crores of taka through fraudulent billing and vouchers. The petition also noted concerns that he may attempt to flee the country to evade investigation. In the interest of a thorough investigation, the ACC has urged the court to restrict his foreign travel to prevent any potential escape.

Marking the 134th death anniversary of Bangladesh’s most revered philosophical figures and mystic poet Fakir Lalon Shah on October 17, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) is all set to host a three-day festival, starting from Thursday. A press conference detailing the event was held on Wednesday at 3 pm in the National Theatre Hall seminar room at BSA, where the academy briefed journalists about the festival. Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed, Secretary Salahuddin Ahmed, newly appointed directors and officers of various departments of the academy joined the press conference, where it was announced that the inauguration of the festival will be held tomorrow at 6 pm at the National Theater Hall Auditorium. BSA gets six new departmental directors Sharmin Murshid, Adviser to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Women and Child Affairs, will inaugurate the first day's program titled 'Ashasindhu Teerey', which will be chaired by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Director General Syed Jamil Ahmed. BSA Fine Arts Director Mustafa Zaman will deliver the welcome speech, while artists Arup Rahi and Zahura Fakirani will share songs and thoughts, influenced by Lalon's ideology. The second day (Friday, October 18) will feature the Sadhumela "Manush Bhojle Shonar Manush Hobi" at the academy's Nandan Mancha at 6 pm. Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed will chair the event, while Mehjabeen Rahman, Director of BSA's Music, Dance, and Recitation Department, will deliver the welcoming remarks. Saturday, October 19, will be the festival's third day, featuring a two-part event. The first session will begin at 4 pm in the National Theatre Hall's seminar room with a discussion titled "Jatisottar Prosno Ebong Baul-Fakir Poribeshonar Rajniti" (The Question of National Identity and the Politics of Baul-Fakir Performance), and the keynote presentation will be presented by Rajshahi University professor and researcher Dr A Al Mamun. BSA hosts art, music, dance and film appreciation courses The event will be presided over by Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed, and the welcoming address will be delivered by Abdul Halim Chanchal, Director of BSA's Production Department, while the discussion will be joined by notable speakers including Dr Mohammad Azam, Director General of Bangla Academy; journalist-writer and Director General of the Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) Faruk Wasif, and Dr Shahman Moishan, dramatist and associate professor at Dhaka University. The second part of the ceremony will start at 7 pm at the National Theatre Hall auditorium featuring a special Lalon memorial seminar titled ‘Dhoro Manush Rup Nehare’. Dr Asif Nazrul, Adviser to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, will deliver the keynote speech at the event, while BSA Production Department Director Abdul Halim Chanchal will deliver the welcoming address. Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed will preside over the seminar, which will also be joined by journalist-fiction writer and newly appointed Managing Director and Chief Editor of the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) Mahbub Morshed as a discussant. The event will also feature enthralling cultural performances by renowned artists. Detailing the three-day event, BSA Director General Dr Jamil said that the cost of the three-day event will be displayed on the academy website. He requested the cooperation of journalists in promoting the festival. Besides, the Director General highlighted the implementation of three goals in Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy - bringing back administrative transparency, financial transparency and efficiency. BSA welcomes Falgun in style, bids farewell to the Pitha Ustab  The three-day Lalon Festival will be open to general visitors at the venue based on immediate registration. Dr Jamil also hoped that through this festival, the cultural stagnation in the capital would be reduced and Lalon's non-communal philosophy would spread among all, including the young generation.

Falgun, the first month of the festive Spring season and the eleventh month in the Bengali calendar, will be welcomed Tuesday and will also be celebrated on the same day as Valentine's Day, which has been a tradition in Bangladesh since 2020. The second largest celebration in the Bengali calendar year, Pahela Falgun meaning Falgun 1st, used to be celebrated on February 13 every year; however, it was merged with Valentine’s Day in 2020 when Bangla Academy revised Bangla Calendar to align it better with the Gregorian calendar. Welcoming the king of all the six seasons which breathes the life back into brings vibrant sunshine and mild heat in the weather after the short-lived Winter season in the country, the nation is ready to greet the first day of Falgun amid colourful festivities and yellow-red festive attires. Read More: Budget-friendly Ways to Celebrate Valentine's Day Keeping pace with the rest of the world, Bangladeshis will also celebrate Valentine’s Day with their beloved ones, a day symbolising and celebrating love among their beloveds. Although the added festivities of Pahela Falgun brought a new and refreshing tone to the day, netizens especially the youths have been observing the day for the last couple of decades now.  Different organisations and businesses will be celebrating this festive February 14 with multiple festivities this year, marking the return of grand in-person celebrations after three long years of battling with the Coronavirus pandemic and its aftermaths. The tradition of celebrating the Pahela Falgun in Bangladesh started in the Bengali calendar year 1401. Since then, the Jatiya Bawshonto Utsab Udyapan Parishad has been celebrating Pahela Falgun regularly with colourful cultural festivity at the Bakultala of Charukala (Dhaka University Faculty of Fine Art) in the morning every year. Read More: 10 Valentine's Day Gift Ideas for Wife Although the Parishad could not arrange the regular festivities in 2022 due to the pandemic, this year the organization will observe the Pahela Falgun festivities in Charukala Bakultala at 7 am and 3 pm with two different seasons. It will also host similar festivities in the afternoon on the open stage at Uttara Rabindra Sarani and Bahadur Shah Park in the capital. Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) will organise a special cultural event at its Nandan Mancha at 4pm. The event will feature musical performances, recitations, dance recitals and choreography of Spring-themed Bengali fashion; however, it also obligated the female festival-goers to must wear flower garlands and males to wear flower garlands in their hands, which infuriated many netizens on social media as they believe such events should not make such obligations. The ongoing Amar Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy and Sohrawardi Udyan already observed an influx of crowd on Monday, the long-standing usual day of Pahela Falgun in the past; and the book-sellers and fair authorities are expecting an even bigger crowd on Tuesday amid the festivities. Read More: Tracing the Roots of Ekushey Boi Mela.

Bangladesh and South Asian region’s biggest art and painting biennale exhibition platform Dhaka Art Summit (DAS)’s 6th edition will begin at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on Friday after three years of hiatus due to Covid-19 pandemic. Salman F Rahman, the private sector and investment adviser to the Prime Minister, will inaugurate the nine-day event while State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid, Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Liaquat Ali Lucky will be present as the special guests. Director of Dhaka Art Summit and President of Samdani Art Foundation Nadia Samdani MBE, Trustee of Dhaka Art Summit and Samdani Art Foundation Rajeeb Samdani, and Managing Director and CEO of Golden Harvest Agro Industries Limited Mohammad Saker Shamim will also join the opening ceremony among the special guests. The nine-day-long summit will feature workshops, performance seminars and diverse exhibitions with the participation of renowned art critics and art collectors from home and abroad, with a vibrant panel of over 160 local and international artists. Topics like climate change and gender relations will be a key focus of this year's event. A press conference was held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's National Art Gallery auditorium on Wednesday, where the Samdani Art Foundation's Nadia Samdani, MBE and Rajeeb Samdani briefed the media about the event details of the 6th edition. “The theme of the 2023 Dhaka Art Summit is ‘Bonna’ (flood). In riverine Bangladesh, ‘Bonna (flood)’ is not just a name for disaster but a lot more, hence young girls are named ‘Bonna’ (flood). At this year’s DAS, ‘Bonna’ (flood) will be presented through the character of a young girl, in a different way: with questions that go against conventional binary thinking about necessity and non-necessity, recovery from disaster and reconstruction, kids and adults, women and men, and more. The participating artists' exhibitions will reveal the full significance of this connection,” Rajeeb Samndani told UNB. Read more: Fifth Dhaka Art Summit ends in style Artists participating in the 6th edition of the Art Summit include – Sumaiya Vali, Antony Gromley, Asfika Rahman, Vinodbihari Mukherjee, Bhasha Chakraborty, Chitraprasad, Daniel Boyd, Damasus Hacha, Faisal Zaman, Ganesh Paini, Ghazaleh Avarzamani, Habik Chuhen, Habiba Nowroz, Jamal Ahmed, Jaydev Roja, Jani Rusika, Kabir Ahmed Masum Chishti, Kamruzzaman Swadhan, Lala Rukh, Lapdiang Saiyem, Marina Perez Simao, Nabil Ahmed, Nazmun Nahar Kaya, Paul Taburet, Rupali Gupta and Prasad Shetty, Purnima Akhtar, Rafiqun Nabi, Safiuddin Ahmed, Sahej Rahal, Tanya Goyal, Veronica Hapchenko, Yasmin Jahan Nupur. , Rizvi Hasan, Ganesh Pine and others. Art Summit started its journey in 2012. A flagship venture by the Samdani Art Foundation, the Summit’s aim is to establish a profound relationship with Bangladeshi and South Asian arts to the world and to showcase the country's artists and artistic expertise in the international arena. The 6th edition of Dhaka Art Summit will be open to the visitors at National Art Gallery from 10 am to 8 pm till February 11.

Responding to the demand of avid art lovers, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) has extended the 19th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2022 for one week. The biennale will now welcome its visitors till January 13. The closing ceremony of the exhibition was held at BSA's National Theatre Hall Saturday. Presided over by BSA Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky, the event was joined by Speaker of the Parliament Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury as chief guest. State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid, Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Abul Monsur, and eminent artists Shahabuddin Ahmed and Monirul Islam were also present. Many enthusiastic art admirers and visitors were seen on the BSA premises yesterday on the Asian Art Biennale's last day. Both Khalid and Liaquat said they received multiple requests for an extension of the exhibition, but had to announce its conclusion. However, the next editions of this flagship event of the BSA will be held for two months, they added. "Despite the fact that the 19th Asian Art Biennale officially drew to a close, we decided to extend it for another week due to the demand of our art enthusiasts. The galleries will be accessible to the public until January 13. However, it will not be extended further, as we have other exciting projects in our schedule," BSA Public Relations Officer Hasan Mahmud told UNB Sunday. On December 8, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the month-long art extravaganza online. The exhibition is showcasing 649 pieces of art created by 493 artists from 114 nations, including 149 Bangladeshi artists.

At Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's (BSA) National Theater Hall auditorium in the capital, the three-day festivities of the 40th Jatiya Rabindra Sangeet Sammelan were inaugurated on Friday. Ekushey Padak-winning eminent educationist Syed Akram Hossain inaugurated the ceremonies of this flagship event of the Jatiya Rabindra Sangeet Sammelan Parishad (JRSP).  The inaugural session of this exclusive convention, which has returned to the capital for the first time after the Covid-19 pandemic, began with a harmonious rendition of the Tagore song 'Apni Obosh Holi'. Some 40 of the JRSP members and alumni, including renowned influential and cultural personalities, then began the ceremony by lighting the mangal pradeep (lamp of welfare) together on the stage.  Hosted by thespian Tropa Majumdar, the event was presided over by the executive president of the National Rabindra Sangeet Sammelan Parishad, Atiur Rahman. The welcome remarks were delivered by Bulbul Islam, central general secretary of JRSP. "Our once-green world has turned blood red, and people must awaken their humanity, artistic sensibility, and compassion in order to save the earth and restore harmony to society. Music can be one of the majestic companions behind this awakening,” said Professor Syed Akram. Two special presentations of ‘Geeti Alekhya’ were performed on the opening day of the convention. Dr Atiur Rahman-written ‘Shampreetir Bangladesh’ was performed at the inaugural session, while Mofidul Hoque-written Liberation War-based 'Tomay Notun Kore Pabo' was performed in the evening session on the first day. The three-day convention is hosting a total of 700 artistes, organisers and cultural activists, and the inaugural day was observed with a youth competition, cultural segments and organisational activities. On Saturday, the festival is scheduled to feature a special seminar at 4 pm, featuring this year’s topic, 'The role of culture in creating a harmonious society'. Mofidul Haque, Liberation War Museum trustee and keynote speaker of the event, will deliver the lecture at the seminar which will be presided over by Sarwar Ali, while freedom fighter and cultural personality Nasiruddin Yousuff Bachchu and Professor Sadhan Ghosh will join as speakers. The evening will be observed with eminent singer Lily Islam-written ‘Geeti Alekkhya’ titled ‘Ananda-Sundor-Bishwo-Utsab’, which will be followed by several cultural segments, including songs, dance and poetry recitals.  

A special 3-day visual art show titled 'STIGMATIZED DAY' began at  Nandan Mancha of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on Sunday, commemorating the August 21st grenade attack massacre. Fine Arts department of BSA organized the event with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Curated by artist Abhijit Chowdhury and co-curated by Sujon Mahahbub and Shubhra Talukder, the performance art programme is showcasing the graphic representation of the brutal Dhaka grenade attack which took place at an anti-terrorism rally organised by the Bangladesh Awami League on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital on August 21st, 2004. Read:'BRAVEHEART’: Gallery Cosmos pays rich artistic tribute to Bangabandhu