The first death anniversary of renowned artist and national award winning director Khalid Mahmood Mithu will be observed today. In memory of Mithu, an exhibition featuring his paintings and photography will begin today at Zainul Gallery of Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University.
Eminent artist Kanak Chanpa Chakma, wife of Khalid Mahmood Mithu, will attend the opening ceremony of the exhibition today.
Born on January 1 in 1960, Dhaka, Khalid Mahmood Mithu was a multi- talented man. He did his MFA from Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka in 1986. Simultaneously, Mithu worked in filmmaking and painting media.
Mithu, in his lifetime, did 11 solo painting and photography exhibitions in Bangladesh, USA and Japan. He took part in 134 major group exhibitions in USA, England, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, France, Nepal, China, India, Japan, Korea, Slovenia, Germany and Bangladesh.
He made 150 musical programmes, 30 fiction movies and many documentary films. Mithu achieved a very good reputation and he won 29 prestigious awards for the best in film directing, script writing, painting, photography and cinematography.
The most important awards won by Mithu include Excellence Award of Art Mirai International Art Exhibition by Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan 2005. All Media Best Award, Florida, USA 1997, Best Award for Experimental Painting, Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka 1988 and also, National Awards for photography in 1986, 1989, 1991 and 1992.
 He won the National Film Award in the category of Best Director for his film ‘Gohine Shobdo’ in 2010.
Khalid Mahmood Mithu died in a tragic accident on March 7 in 2016 when a large tree fell upon him in the capital’s Dhanmondi area. l