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Art and its manifestations

Dhaka Art Summit gets going in style

Zahangir alom
The eye-opening Dhaka Art Summit 2018 (DAS) was inaugurated at Bangladesh Shiipakala Academy (BSA) yesterday (February 2). The nine day art summit sheds light on the dynamic evolution of art and architecture in contemporary South Asia, with a call for reviving the cross-cultural histories of Asia and the rest of the world.
Over the years, DAS, produced and organised biennially by Samdani Art Foundation in association with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Information, the National Tourism Board, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Bangladesh National Museum, has become a buzzword among global art connoisseurs, curators, researchers and critics.
The fourth successive edition of DAS is exclusively featuring 10 curated exhibitions by 300 artists from 35 countries, and 120
speakers from all over the world participating in 16 panel discussions, as well as two symposiums that strive to ground future developments in art in South Asia within the region's rich, yet lesser-known past.
Among the 10 curated exhibitions, "Bearing Points’, curated by DAS chief curator Diana Campbell Betancourt, replaces the solo projects section of previous editions of DAS, with a series of five large-scale thematic presentations, including many commissions from artists and architects, orienting the viewers towards lesser-explored transcuitural histories of South Asia.
Curated by Cosmin Costinas, ’A Beast, a God and a Line” considers Bengal's position at the core of different geographical networks, reflecting the circulation of people and ideas across different historical timelines.
Curated by Devika Singh, ’Planetary Planning" is by three generations of artists and architects including pioneering Bangladeshi figures - architect Muzharul
Islam, sculptor Novera Ahmed and abstract master Mohammed Kibria. The exhibition also explores how the featured 12 artists challenged fixed identities and inherent hierarchies.
"A Utopian Stage" is curated by Vali Mahlouji. It reflects on the radical "Third World-ism’ at play at the Festival of Art, Shiraz-Persepolis (1967-77), A unique crucible for artistic exchange, this performance festival stimulated exposure and confrontation by situating Iran in relation to Asia, and juxtaposing Asian and African artists with the international avant-garde.
Bangladesh has a glorious past of cultural practice and its deep-rooted heritage is amply reflected in her art, architecture, literature, dance, drama and music. The works of Bangladeshi artists and architects have their distinctive and prominent projections at the biennale. Focusing on the first four editions of the oldest surviving biennale of Asia, the exhibition, featuring collections from BSA and the archive of the
Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, reflects Bangladesh's rich history of large-scale recurring international exhibitions. Art aficionados will have the rare opportunity to look at the masterpiece "First Plantation" (1975) by the legendary SM Sultan.
It is undoubtedly a great opportunity for Bangladeshi artists and art lovers alike, as DAS, the largest non-commercial and research-based exhibition platform, has become one of the most well attended art events in South Asia. Art can inspire people to think differently and to strive for something better. DAS is hoped to attract people from diverse strata of the society.
The grand art fiesta proved hugely popular in the past, which has led to an exciting modification in this year's edition. Ranging from performance art to text based and sound works, videos, installations, paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, sculptures, and more, art in almost every form imaginable are being showcased at every nook and cranny of the National Art Gallery of BSA.