Staff Reporter :
The second edition of Dhaka Art Summit, the world’s largest platform for South Asian art, began at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) in the city’s Segunbagicha area on Friday.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith inaugurated the summit as the chief guest, while Director General of the BSA Liaquat Ali Lucky presided over the session.
Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor MP and Advisor to the Prime Minister on International Affairs Dr Gowher Rizvi were present as special guests at the inauguration.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Samdani Art Foundation Faruk Sobhan and Director of Dhaka Art Summit Nadia Samdani were also present on the occasion.
An initiative of the Samdani Art Foundation in collaboration with the BSA and in partnership with Airtel Bangladesh and Golden Harvest Group, the non-profit event is presenting over 250 artists from the region aiming to support the development of South Asian art, bring museum-quality exhibitions to Bangladesh and promote international artistic exchange.
Dhaka Art Summit 2014 is presenting a panoramic survey of artists from South Asian countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Launched in 2012, the first edition, which focused on artists from Bangladesh, attracted more than 50,000 visitors.
Internationally acclaimed figures such as Jitish Kallat, Runa Islam, Shilpa Gupta, Shahzia Sikander, Rashid Rana and Nikhil Chopra are presenting major projects alongside some of the most exciting emerging names from the region.
Representatives from Tate Modern, The British Museum, Centre Pompidou and Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, among many others, will participate in the talk programmes during the summit.
The three-day art summit is also including solo projects, curated exhibitions, an ambitious public art project, a talks series, performances, experimental film screenings, and presentations by 33 local and international galleries.
Dhaka Art Summit is being organised by Samdani Art Foundation in collaboration with the BSA, and curated by Diana Campbell Betancourt (Artistic Director, Samdani Art Foundation) with Mahbubur Rahman (Artist /Co-Founder, Britto Arts Trust, Bangladesh).
Dhaka Art Summit 2014 will end on February 9.
