Bangladesh Art Week 2019 concluded in Chattogram yesterday at Artist Rashid Chowdhury Art Gallery, Institute of Fine Arts, University of Chittagong.

Bangladesh Art Week organised the two-day (August 2-3) long exhibition titled The Power of Nine with the support of PHP Family. The exhibition featured around 40 artworks by nine prominent and promising artists -- Rafiqun Nabi, Monirul Islam, Farida Zaman, Jamal Ahmed, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Mustapha Khalid Palash, Mohammad Iqbal, Tejosh Halder Josh and AMB Salauddin (Rony). Through their brushes, paints and canvases, they shared their immensely thought-provoking ideas about nature, life, emotion, evolution and culture.

PHP Family Chairman Sufi Mohammad Mizanur Rahman inaugurated the exhibition on August 2. Bangladesh Art Week Founder, Niharika Momtaz, Chattogram Club Chairman, Jashim Uddin Chowdhury and PHP Family Vice Chairman, Mohammad Mohsin were also present, among others, during the inaugural ceremony.

Photo: STAR

Rafiqun Nabi, the artist who has been working for years to portray the life of street children, and the creator of the epic character Tokai, also famously known as Ranabi, was the guest of honour at the programme. Two of his woodcut-works titled Street Boy and Broken Windows were displayed at the exhibition.

Rafiqun Nabi said that Chattogram had always been a place of diverse cultural practice and natural beauty. “The place itself intrigues people to unleash the sparks in them. It is such an extraordinary event to be a part of,” he added.

Through four watercolour paintings, artist Monirul Islam displayed his own ways of visualising the nature. Nature’s Dialogue, and Forest Dance were among his works that were displayed at the show. Kanak Chanpa Chakma portrayed the life of indigenous women through her paintings. Her work, Prayer, showed the rituals performed by the indigenous women on a daily basis as part of their culture. Meanwhile, Jamal Ahmed’s  paintings depicted the diverse aspects of life revolving around Buriganga River and Cox’s Bazar, and portrayed the connection of people with nature.