18 cultural icons, 2 organisations receive Shilpakala Padak

Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) handed over the Shilpakala Padak to 18 cultural personalities and two cultural organisations, in recognition of their notable contributions to different fields— vocal music, dance, film, instrumental music, fine arts, dramatics, recitation, folk culture, photography and creative cultural unit.

The award ceremony took place at the National Theatre Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on September 22, where President Abdul Hamid joined the event virtually as the Chief Guest.

Presided over by State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Abul Monsur were present as special guests at the event.

The award was not conferred in 2019 and the ceremony could not take place in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of twenty people, including ten in 2019 and ten in 2020 were awarded. Each awardee received a cheque for BDT 1 lakh, a gold medal and a certificate.

The awardees of the 2019 award are– Mohammad Moniruzzaman (instrumental– flute), Lubna Marium (dance), Hasina Momtaz (vocal), Abdul Mannan (fine arts), Masud Ali Khan (dramatics), M A Taher (photography), Shambhu Acharya (folklore), Hasan Arif (recitation), Anupam Hayat (film) and cultural institution Chhayanaut (creative cultural organisation).

The 2020 award-winning cultural personalities are-- Shamsur Rahman (instrumental – shehnai), Shibli Mohammad (dance), Mahmudur Rahman Benu (vocal), Shahid Kabir (fine arts), Malay Bhowmick (dramatics), Shafiqul Islam Swapan (photography), Shah Alam Sarkar (folklore), Dahlia Ahmed (recitation), Shameem Akhtar (film) and Dinajpur Nattya Samity (creative cultural organisation).

BSA Director General, Liaquat Ali Lucky delivered the welcome address at the event. Liaquat Ali Lucky informed that they are planning to open new National Art Galleries, along with three auditoriums with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

After the award distribution and discussion, artistes of BSA performed music and dance performance.