DHAKA, Dec 14, 2019 (BSS) – A four-day art exhibition titled ‘Gandhi @ 150 Art Camp’ commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, is being held at Sreemangal, Sylhet Division, Bangladesh under the auspices of High Commission of India, Dhaka.
A total of 15 young artists from Bangladesh are participating in the art camp that will formally end tomorrow, said a press release here today.
Rokeya Sultana, a renowned artist and professor at Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University is the mentor of the camp.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das inaugurated the art camp at Indian High Commission in Dhaka on 11 December 2019.
Deputy High Commissioner, Bishwadip Dey visited the art camp today and interacted with the artists.
“I am pleased to see the enthusiastic participation by the young artists in the Gandhi @ 150 Art Camp. Their work is indeed reflective of their understanding of the Gandhian way of thought, Riva Ganguly Das said.
She said: “Gandhi’s principles are timeless and I am encouraged to see that it has found resonance in the minds of these young participating artists.”
Rokeya Sultana said the art camp will guide them and the young generation will understand Gandhi’s ideology and aim of building a compassionate world. “They will become better citizens of the world and engage themselves in maintaining peace,” she added.
Participating artist Tahia Hossain said she has tried to depict Mahatma Gandhi’s lifelong work for peace on canvas.
“He showed us the path of peace and proved with his life that one can achieve one’s goal without resorting to violence” the artist said.
Another artist Rahul Rahat said Gandhi dedicated his life for the greater purpose of searching for the truth.
“I have tried to present through my work his pursuit of the truth and how he made the cotton yarn the medium through which India fought for freedom and self-reliance,” he said.
“Satya in Satyagraha means truth. Therefore Satyagraha is the force borne out of truth, love and non-violence. It is this understanding of Satyagraha that I am trying to depict through my work,” said Md. Ashraful Alam, another artist.
Government of India has been commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi across the country and in Indian Missions abroad.
The Gandhi @ 150 art camp is part of High Commission of India’s commemoration of this significant year.
Earlier, High Commission had organized a Vegetarian Food Festival, tree plantation and a cycling event. Schoolchildren from over 50 schools participated in a quiz on Mahatma Gandhi as well. A high-level event celebrating the Mahatma was held at UN Headquarters on 24 September 2019 which was graced by the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The artists, working on themes based on Gandhian philosophy such as ‘Truth’ and ‘Non-violence (Ahimsa), ‘Universal brotherhood- Vasudeiva Kutumbakam’, have brought out artwork in the nature of sculpture, paintings, batik work, etc.
The artwork produced in the Gandhi @ 150 Art Camp would be exhibited at Shilpakala Academy in early January 2020.