United News of Bangladesh

Today marks the fifth death anniversary of eminent Bangladeshi printmaker Kalidas Karmakar. Born on January 10, 1946 in Faridpur to a family of goldsmiths and artisans, Kalidas cemented his legacy as one of the most diverse and well-respected artists of Bangladesh. He was one of the advisers of Gallery Cosmos who initiated the state-of-the-art printmaking studio Atelier-71 at the gallery venue in Cosmos Centre, Malibagh in the capital, for which he had always shown great dedication. He was engaged with the gallery till his death on October 18, 2019. Kalidas was naturally attracted to crafts, drawing and painting. To begin with his artistic endeavours, he completed his two-years preliminary degree in fine arts at the Institute of Fine Arts, Dhaka University, in 1964. He then went on to complete his graduation from the Government College of Fine Arts and Crafts in Kolkata and achieved the prestigious degree in 1969. Known as the ‘Alluvial Man’ in the country's art sphere, Kalidas began his career with painting through assembling metal objects in the 1970s and with prints, he began to explore mythic and tantric images in the 1980s, opening up new possibilities for etching and aquatint. Marking the esteemed artist's fifth death anniversary, Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos Atelier-71 Artistic Director Sourav Chowdhury said: “For our Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos Atelier-71, Kalidas Karmakar has always been a family member and a guardian angel since its inception. Although his sudden departure has left a void, we are glad to honour his legacy, and we know that Kali da is always with us in spirit.” A maestro of printmaking, especially viscosity printing, Kalidas Karmakar’s diverse artworks featuring metallic and other objects, handmade paper, and oil on canvas prints have been widely exhibited throughout South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and many other places across the world. His maiden solo art exhibition was held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on August 7, 1976. Throughout his acclaimed career, he received multiple prestigious scholarships and fellowships including the Polish Government Scholarship in Graphic Art at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Art, Warsaw University; the French Government Superior Scholarship in Fine Arts for research in multicolour etching; Japan Foundation Fellowship on Japanese Woodblock Printing at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music; ICCR Special Scholarship for research in Contemporary Modern Sculpture, West Bengal Lalit Kala Academy Studio; and Asian Cultural Council New York, Fellowship with Artist Residency program in the US. For his remarkable contribution to the Bangladeshi fine arts, Kalidas Karmakar was awarded the Shilpakala Padak in 2016 and the Ekushey Padak in 2018.  

Comic book "Satire and Ridicule" was launched at DrikPath Bhobon in Dhaka's Panthapath on Thursday evening. The book is edited by photographer-activist Shahidul Alam and published jointly by Drik Picture Library, earki, and the Bangladesh Cartoonist Association (BANCARAS). The book is compiled based on "Cartoon e Bidroho"—an exhibition organised at Drik back in August. The book carries about 200 selected cartoons depicting the fall of Sheikh Hasina and the July mass uprising in Bangladesh. Dhaka University Mass Communication and Journalism Professor Dr Gitiara Nasreen, Dhaka University Sociology Associate Professor Dr Samina Luthfa, and cartoonist Mehedi Haque delivered speeches at the launching event, moderated by Drik’s Managing Director Shahidul Alam. “The time is safer than before, but it is of utmost importance to raise our voices while repression happens. We should stand beside those who talk during testing times. We need to continue our work because asking questions is always relevant,” Shahidul Alam said at the event. Dr Gitiara Nasreen said, “I am amazed that many people are working to document our memories. People could not express themselves for many years, and then an outburst happened; a lot of dissenting voices came to the forefront during this time, and a big chunk of this was expressed through cartoons, satire, and memes. Cartoon has an international language.” Samina Lutfa said, “It is crucial to know behind the scenes of a cartoon to understand the politics behind it. A cartoon has the potential to spread quicker than a thousand-word speech. People can swiftly comprehend the situation through a cartoon.” Cartoonist Mehedi Haque said, “Young cartoonists draw most of the cartoons in this book. We have collected about 500 cartoons from the internet, among which only 10-15 were created by known cartoonists.” “Many people are working through different mediums, but the culture of documentation is mostly absent. As the book is published in English, this is a great opportunity for international readers,” Mehedi added. Earlier on September 24, the cartoon book was launched at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA, by the Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, Professor Dr Yunus.

The annex where the young Jewish diarist Anne Frank hid from Nazi occupiers during World War II is heading to New York. A full-scale replica of the rooms that form the heart of the Anne Frank House museum on one of Amsterdam's historic canals is being built in the Netherlands and will be shipped across the Atlantic for a show titled “ Anne Frank The Exhibition ” at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. Anne Frank House renovated to tell story to new generation “For the first time in history, the Anne Frank House will present what I would call a pioneering experience outside of Amsterdam. To immerse visitors in a full-scale, meticulous recreation of the secret annex. Those rooms where Anne Frank, her parents, her sister, four other Jews, spent more than two years hiding to evade Nazi capture,” Anne Frank House director Ronald Leopold told The Associated Press in an interview detailing the upcoming exhibition. In July 1942, Anne Frank, then aged 13, her parents Otto and Edith, and her 16-year-old sister Margo went into hiding in the annex. They were joined a week later by the van Pels family — Hermann, Auguste and their 15-year-old son, Peter. Four months later, Fritz Pfeffer moved into the hiding place, also seeking to evade capture by the Netherlands' Nazi German occupiers. They stayed in the annex of rooms until they were discovered in 1944 and sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. Anne and her sister Margot were then moved to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died of typhus in February 1945. Anne was 15. Her father, Otto, the only person from the annex to survive the Holocaust, published Anne's diary after the war and it became a publishing sensation around the world as a symbol of hope and resilience in the face of tyranny. Leopold said the New York exhibit promises to be “an immersive, interactive, captivating experience" for visitors. It opens on Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. While the faithfully rebuilt annex of rooms will be the heart of the exhibit, it also will trace the history of Anne's family from their time in Germany, their move to the Netherlands and decision to go into hiding, to their discovery by Nazis, deportation, Anne's death and the postwar decision by her father to publish her diary. “What we try to achieve with this exhibition is that people, our visitors will learn about Anne not just as a victim, but through the multifaceted lens of a life, as a teenage girl, as a writer, as a symbol of resilience and of strength. We hope that they will contemplate the context that shaped her life.” The exhibition comes at a time of rising antisemitism and anger at the devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that has now spread to the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel. “With ever fewer, fewer, survivors in our communities, with devastating antisemitism and other forms of group hatred on the rise in the U.S. but also across the world, we feel ... our responsibility as Anne Frank House has never been greater," Leopold said. "And this exhibition is also in part a response to that responsibility to educate people to stand against antisemitism, to stand against group hatred.” Anne's diary will not be making the transatlantic trip. “We unfortunately will not be able to travel with the diary, writings, the notebooks and the loose sheets that Anne wrote. They are too fragile, too vulnerable to travel," Leopold said. Among 125 exhibits that are traveling from Amsterdam for the New York exhibition are photos, albums, artefacts such as one of the yellow stars Jews were ordered to wear in the occupied Netherlands, as well as the Best Supporting Actress Oscar won by Shelley Winters for her role in George Stevens’ 1959 film “The Diary of Anne Frank.

Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) hosted the launch of the book titled ‘Folk Melody of Bangladesh’ on Friday, an anthology of Bangladeshi folk music presented in standard notation, compiled and edited by Iftekhar Anwar. The launch was followed by a live musical performance by the Flaming Acoustics Orchestra, including Anwar, the writer of the book. This launching ceremony, joined by eminent folk singer Farida Parveen, Liberation War Museum’s founder Trustee Mofidul Hoque, and AFD Director François Grosjean, among others, was an addition to the 65th-anniversary festivities of Alliance Française de Dhaka. A comprehensive collection of Bangladesh’s rich folk musical heritage, Iftekhar Anwar has preserved and standardised these timeless traditional melodies, which are woven into the very culture of Bangladesh, in an anthology that will ensure that the cultural treasures of the nation reach a wider audience through study and performances, garnering an appreciation for the art through increased accessibility on a global scale. This book, according to the writer himself, stands to foster a deeper understanding of our cultural heritage through the universal language of music, bridging cultural divides. Iftekhar Anwar, Founder and Director of the Classical Music Academy (CMA) in Dhaka, earned his diploma in music from the Razi Conservatory in Athens, Greece, and continued his higher education at Arizona State University, USA. In addition to the CMA, Anwar also conducts the guitar courses at Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD), which has contributed to the popularisation of classical guitar in many. This book is a labour of his love for music, and he conveyed a special note of gratitude to Shah Cement Bangladesh, for their invaluable support in helping to achieve this ambitious goal. A talented group of individual musicians, many of whom have blossomed under the tutelage of Anwar himself, features: Iftekhar Anwar on Cello, Md Ali Akkas on Flute, Md Erfanul Haque on Classical Guitar, Nahian Kabyo on Violin, Prithila Mary Pereira on Percussion, Sattyajit Sarkar on Violin, and Simon Kierspel on Viola.

 Following the ouster of the previous regime by the student-led mass uprising, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), which itself also went through a massive transformation, once again reopened its National Theatre Hall on Friday after 84 days. The last theatrical performance held at this venue was on July 18, and then the academy had to restrict the screenings due to the socio-political turmoil. Since then, the academy has been occupied by army officers and personnel. On Friday at 7 pm, BSA resumed the regular screenings of stage plays with Bangladesh Theatre's production ‘Sea Morog’, written by Asadullah Farazi and directed by Humayun Kabir. This was the 301st screening of the theatre troupe’s sixth production. Ahead of this occasion, the newly appointed Director General of BSA and eminent theatre personality Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed said: “With the state undergoing constructive development, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy is reopening its regular theatre-art practice after an unavoidable and involuntary break. On this momentous occasion, I want to send my greetings and best wishes to all cultural stakeholders in the country..” Earlier on October 7, a coordination meeting between army officials and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy was held at the academy, which led to the decision to open the National Theatre Hall's main theatre and rooms 1 and 2 for performances and rehearsals on a limited basis, starting on October 11, Following that meeting, BSA authorities addressed several new instructions for theatre productions, performers and general audiences.  Theatre troupes are required to provide member lists of production-related troupes to the BSA office, and they are permitted to stage one show in a single shift. Based on their application for priority usage of the auditorium for staging the play, the troupes will be assigned to the practice rooms; and the troupes can also apply online for the allocation and allotment. The audience can join the shows by purchasing a ticket or presenting an invitation card, while journalists need to provide their ID cards to get entry. According to BSA’s schedule, Aranyak Natyadal will stage the play ‘Maiyur Singhason’ on Saturday, and theatre troupe Ethic will stage ‘Rajdrohi’ on Sunday, October 13.

Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) will lift the curtain to an Art Film Festival on Friday, featuring the works of the renowned French filmmaker François Lévy-Kuentz. The exclusive festival will feature the works of the renowned French filmmaker François Lévy-Kuentz, who has dedicated himself to creating monographs on various artists, including Chagall, Pascin, Calder, Mondrian, Dali, and Buñuel, which have all garnered accolades at international festivals. His films offer deep insights into the world of modern and contemporary art, blending historical narrative with artistic expression to create a unique viewing experience. According to AFD, the highlights of the festival include exclusive screenings that will showcase a selection of Lévy-Kuentz’s most celebrated films, including documentaries on iconic figures such as Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, and Salvador Dalí. The festival will also showcase interactive sessions, where the attendees will have the opportunity to participate in the interactive Q&A sessions, exploring the intersection of visual arts and filmmaking with François himself and a post-film discussion with Moinuddin Khaled. The screenings are scheduled as follows: 'Salvador Dali, genie tragic-comique' (2012) at 4 pm and 'Chagall, à la Russie, aux ânes et aux autres' (2003) at 5 pm on Friday (October 11); 'Calder, sculpteur de l’air' (2009) at 4 pm and 'Dans l’atelier de Mondrian' (2010) at 5 pm on Saturday (October 12); 'Nicolas de Staël, la peinture à vif' (2023) at 4 pm and 'La face cacheè de l’art americain' (2019) at 5 pm on Monday (October 14); and 'Yves Klein, la révolution bleue' (2006) at 4 pm and 'Pascin l’impudique' (2000) at 5 pm on Tuesday, October 15. Open to all, the festival will take place at AFD's Auditorium Nouvelle Vague. This event is an addition to the 65th-anniversary festivities of Alliance Française de Dhaka.

Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) has recently hosted the first show of the puppet theatre titled “Invisible Stories” by a duo of Bangladeshi artists, Diana Meriline and Md Farhad Ahmed, under French puppeteer Laurie Cannac’s direction of her very own creation. The maiden edition of this special theatre production was staged on October 4 and 5 at La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka, in Dhanmondi. The story follows two scientists, studying the impact of ghosts on everyday life in Dhaka. Their subject begins to master them and throws them on a fantastic trip that leads them to meet the wilderness and wisdom of the Sundarbans.  

The government has appointed new directors in six departments of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA). At the same time, the remaining terms of the contracts of BSA's immediate-past four directors have been cancelled. Ministry of Public Administration on Monday issued a notification in this regard. The newly appointed directors are: Mustafa Zaman (Fine Arts Department), Faiz Zahir (Drama and Film Department), Nava Mehjabeen Rahman (Music, Dance and Recitation Department), Tanzim Wahab (Research and Publication Department), Abdul Halim Chanchal (Production Department) and AFM Nurur Rahman (Training Department). These new directors have been appointed for a period of two years from the date of joining, subject to severance of working relationship with other institutions and organisations. The contractual appointments of previous directors Syeda Mahbuba Karim Mini (Fine Arts Department), Kazi Aftab Uddin Hablu (Music, Dance and Recitation Department), Jyotika Pal Jyoti (Research and Publication Department) and Sohaila Afsana Iko (Production Department) were canceled.

In a recent auction organised by renowned auction house Sotheby's in London, United Kingdom, two paintings by the Bangladeshi art maestro 'Shilpacharya' Zainul Abedin fetched record prices, the highest for any Bangladeshi artist in history.Sotheby's, which was founded in London close to 300 years ago but is now headquartered in New York, recently organised an auction in London on Thursday (September 26) titled 'Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art', where these two paintings were auctioned at record prices.According to Sotheby's website, one of the two paintings, "Untitled," was sold for 516,000 GBP, or $692,048, equivalent to Tk 8.27 crore. This is a work from Zainul's 'Monpura 70' series which the artist painted in southern Char Monpura after the disastrous cyclone of 1970. Millions of people lost their lives in that cyclone.The other painting, another of the Shilpacharya’s "Untitled (Group of Figures)" series was sold for US $643,690, which is approximately Tk 7.69 crore.Both of these original artworks were gifted by Shilpacharya to Cedomil Plazek, a hydrogeologist and representative of Geotehnika Yugoslavia for the United Nations. He lived in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and for many years worked on the United Nations’ groundwater resources development project, as per the description written on the Sotheby's website. During his tenure in Bangladesh, Plazek befriended Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, who gifted him these two paintings, according to the description of these two auctioned paintings.As per the description, the first painting is an 'ink and wash on paper' based work, measured as 54.5 x 74.6 cm (21 3/8 x 29 3/8 in.), signed and dated 'Zainul / 1970' and stamped lower right, and executed in 1970. The second painting is an ‘oil on canvas’ artwork, measured as 68 x 153.8 cm (26 ¾ x 60 ½ in.), signed and dated 'Zainul. 71' lower right, and painted in 1971.Besides these two record-setting paintings, a third painting by the art maestro titled "Untitled (Figures)", sold for $289,663, or Tk 3.46 crore.Back in March this year, Sotheby's auctioned two record-setting paintings of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin in New York, USA. One of them was his famous painting “Untitled” (Santal Couple), painted in 1951, and was sold for $381,000. Another painting “Untitled,” created between 1956 and 1963 depicting a woman at rest, was sold for $279,400.

During his first exchange of views with journalists from print, online and electronic media on Wednesday, the newly appointed Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed said that his mission is to make BSA corruption-free, transparent and accountable to everyone. At the seminar room of BSA’s National Theatre Hall, the DG presented the work plans and outlines of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy to the journalists. During the meeting, he also called for at least three percent of the country's GDP to be allocated to the cultural sector. The meeting began with a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs of the Anti-discrimination Student Movement. The DG then showed a presentation, outlining his plans for reforms, management policies, laws and regulations of the academy. “Culture serves as more than simply a means of amusement; it is an artistic medium that reflects the lifeblood of a country. The Academy will consistently denounce cultural traditions that are founded on a particular ideology. BSA aims to become an inclusive democratic art field of invention, beauty, and joy that draws inspiration from all cultures, languages, faiths, and philosophies,” Dr Jamil stated. Later in the question-and-answer session with journalists. he said: "In addition to the resource centricity, several posts including account assistants will be created to speed up the activities of the district Shilpakala academies." He suggested implementing short, medium and long-term strategies to improve the academy's infrastructural and structural projects. Furthermore, the Director General urged all media outlets to work together in support of the academy's cultural activities in research and practice on a national and global scale by offering information and guidance.