Performance Art Week 2016 begins
DL desk
The Performance Art Week 2016, featuring 20 performance artists of diverse background, has kicked off on Tuesday at Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts in the midst of fanfare. Organised by the Visual Arts Programme of Bengal Foundation, the four-day event will continue till tomorrow.
Palash Bhattacharjees Marked was the opening performance of the event. Using electric blower, sound box, dust, water and toys, Palash showcased different reactions of human which are often not visible.
Next came Joydeb Roaja, a prominent artist from Khagrachari, who performed Prajanma Kalpadrup O Anudrum. A versatile artist Roajas performances, paintings and artworks are influenced by nature and lifestyle of the hill tract area. Most of the works of Joydeb Roaja call for preserving the culture and natural resources of indigenous people of the country and todays performance dealt with similar issues.
Jewel A Robs Eternal Moments: Numbness marked the third performance on the opening day. This performance was a part of the artists experimental series based on object, time and eternity. Here, the artist considers his body as the primary tool of expression. With the performance Jewel aspires to explore how we observe objects and how we interpret body language.
Hasna Hena Porosh presented I Have to Run; I Dont Know How to Stop at 5.40pm. The artists personal journey was portrayed through this performance. It is about her daily life and how she maintains a hectic schedule as an artist and a member of the society.
Yesterdays programme took place at the Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct where five artists performed on intense and complex issues. The artists were Sanad Kumar Biswas (Artist is A Gift Box at 4pm), Sharkar Nasrin Toontoon ( Selfie at 4.15pm) , Nazia Andaleeb Preema, Arpita Singha Lopa, Efat Razowana Reya, Sumana Akter, Reetu Sattar, Niloofar Chaman, Waley Jaff, Meherun Akter, Atish Saha, Emran Sohel, Afsana Sharmin, Farah Naz Moon, Sanjay Chakraborty and Ashim Halder Sagor. They have been selected from a number of applications submitted in response to an Open Call.
The programme has been organised with an aim to look into the multiple complexities of this ephemeral medium through discussions, performances and exhibitions. What role does it play in cultural and political activism as opposed to white-cube spaces? How do artists materialize this non-material art? How does this medium contribute to the evolution of new languages? These are some of the questions that the art week seeks to answer. Performance Art Week 2016 will also attempt to have a comprehensive look on the role of performance art in contemporary Bangladesh.
The programme is being taken place at three different venues: Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct and Gyantapash Abdur Razzaq Bidyapeeth. The entry is free for all.
Featuring the documentations of Performance Art Week 2016, the Visual Arts Programme will also hold an exhibition titled ephemeral: perennial exploring the mediums and possibilities of documenting performance art, which is distinctively exquisite for its complex nature. The exhibition will be inaugurated by Professor Syed Manzoorul Islam and art critic Professor Md Abul Monsur at Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct on January 6.
