Saturday, April 20, 2024
US-based organisation Artolution on Thursday launched a four-day exhibition titled “The Renaissance of the Rohingya Culture: The Light” presenting artworks of Rohingya children sheltered in Bangladesh.
The exhibition was launched in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest.
Three large and 79 small canvases depicting snippets of life in the Rohingya refugee camps located at Cox’s Bazar have been featured in the exhibition at Bangla Academy premises.
“The Renaissance of the Rohingya Culture: The Light” showcases the life of the Rohingya community as they see it, their identity, the trauma of their past, present challenges, and the hopes and dreams of the future in the chronicle of time.
ASM Suza Uddin, the country manager of Artolution Bangladesh, said, “We have made more than 3,000 pieces of art with Rohingya child artists, including small and large drawings on canvases. These events help these children regain their peace of mind.”
The Artolution believes that through the exhibition, the international community can learn about the struggles of the Rohingyas who are victims of genocide by the Myanmar military. This will create international pressure for the safe repatriation of the Rohingyas.
Lit Fest begins
The 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest began on Bangla Academy premises Thursday after a three-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid, Nobel Laureate writer Abdulrazak Gurnah and eminent writer Amitav Ghosh joined the inaugural function of the four-day lit fest in the morning at Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad Hall of Bangla Academy in Dhaka.
Directors of the lit fest Sadaf Saaz, Ahsan Akbar and K Anis Ahmed are organising the lit fest, which will continue from 10am to 8pm every day till January 8.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Abdulrazak Gurnah said, “I have come to Bangladesh for the first time. I think I will see something through this event that I have never seen in my life. The beginning of the ceremony was quite interesting.”
State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid wished for the success of the 10th edition of Dhaka Lit Fest, saying that the Ministry of Cultural Affairs is involved in many ways with this event and this involvement will increase in days to come.
Indian writer Amitav Ghosh said, “I feel honoured to come to such an event as I am Bangladeshi by birth.”
Earlier at a press conference on Sunday last, the organisers said that over 500 speakers, performers, and thinkers representing five continents will participate in the four-day event comprising 175 sessions.
Apart from diverse conversations and dialogues, sessions on science and technology, the event will feature programmes for children and youths, film screenings, drama staging, music and cultural functions.
Among others, Nuruddin Farah, Hanif Kureishi, Pankaj Mishra, Tilda Swinton, Jon Lee Anderson, Onjali Rauf, Sarah Churchwell, Geetanjali Shree, Daisy Rockwell, Esther Freud, Alexandra Pringle, Dame Sarah Gilbert, Marina Mahathir, Joy Goswami, Anisul Hoque, Mashrur Arefin, Kamal Chowdhury, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Marina Tabassum, Syed Manzoorul Islam, Imdadul Haq Milan, Kaiser Haq, Shaheen Akhtar, Amitabh Reza and Azmeri Haque Badhon are going to take part in the fest this year.
Besides, Nobel Laureate authors, internationally acclaimed prize-winning speakers, as well as winners of the Booker and International Booker, Neustadt International, PEN/Pinter, Prix Medicis, Academy Award, Windham-Campbell Prize, Albert Medal, Waterstones Children's Book Prize and Aga Khan Award, are expected to join the 10th edition of the Dhaka Lit Fest.
