Bangladesh Shilpakla Academy (BSA) launched an exclusive live and AR-VR (augmented-virtual reality) interactive exhibition titled ‘July Uprising on Posters’ featuring artist Debashish Chakrabarty's July Uprising artworks at the National Art Gallery in the capital.
BSA’s Production Department organised the exhibition with an opening ceremony at the National Art Gallery Auditorium on Tuesday, January 7.
Dr Asif Nazrul, adviser to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment, joined the ceremony as the chief guest. Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed presided over the event.
Eminent photographer, curator, activist and managing director of Drik Picture Library, Dr Shahidul Alam; writer, journalist, and managing director of Bangladesh News Agency (BSS), Mahabub Morshed; and director of the Fine Arts Department of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Mustafa Zaman, were also present as the special guests at the opening ceremony.
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Writer and researcher Parvez Alam joined live from Amsterdam, Netherlands’, and artist Debashish Chakrabarty joined live from the US. Abdul Halim Chanchal, Director of the Production Department of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy delivered the welcome speech on the occasion.
Dr Asif Nazrul said, "The fascist government's use of filthy narrative-making tactics has been demonstrated to us over the past 15 years; several claims of development advancement have been made through those tactics. A minimal poster can make a significant impact on developing an intriguing narrative, and it has also contributed to the July Uprising that we have seen through Debashish’s excellent works.”
"Graffiti can be a powerful medium that we have not seen in the political context of the last 15 years," the adviser stated in reference to the July movement art graffiti. “Graffiti might not be around in the future, but if it is documented properly, it will be sustained—thus the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's endeavour is commendable from that perspective.”
Dr Syed Jamil Ahmed, Director General of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, stated, "Artist Debashish Chakrabarty has enviably demonstrated how art can be both a political tool and a work of art at the same time. The artist deserves appreciation for his ability to maintain his artistic integrity in the face of the revolution and widespread unrest.”