Shahbaz Nahian

Bangladesh is going through one of its most precarious social, economic and political phases to date, with multiple strange layers in between. The cancellation of various shows and even physical attacks at scale nationwide, including arson, mark a new low. However, the tension between particular groups of ideologues; labelling each other, and other forms of practices they dislike, as “oposhingskriti”, or degenerate art/culture (which reminds me of Entartete Kunst, a term popularised by the party of a certain funny-moustached German leader)—is nothing new. In that context, a significant population still considers art practices like rock and metal music as “degenerates within degenerates”, an apogee of “oposhingskriti” on Bengali soil; despite the scene producing some of the finest artistes...

Around the mid-2000s, a young Munem Wasif, with his rickety Soviet-era Zenit camera, found himself indulging in the allures of the older parts of Dhaka. Infinite lived experiences and thousands of shutter counts later, his first magnum opus, “Belonging”, came to life in 2012. This photo book became one of the most revered photographic bodies of work in Bangladesh’s visual art history.

Playing intricately groovy bass lines while effortlessly singing in tune with his ethereal voice at the same time, often clad in his signature hat and always well-fashioned both on and off stage, Shafin Ahmed was an epitome of showmanship. The artiste was a larger-than-life persona not only in the history of Bangla rock music but also in the history of Bangladeshi art, regardless of mediums.

Currently on display at Kala Kendra in Dhaka, “Liminal Horizon” is a solo exhibition by artist Sanad Biswas that explores the concept of transitional spaces, blurring the lines between the tangible and the intangible. Through an enticing collection of sculptures, the exhibition explores themes of liminality where the familiar dissolves into the unknown. As one of the most striking sculpture showcases in Dhaka’s post-pandemic art scene, “Liminal Horizon” stands out for its thought-provoking approach and the way it redefines spatial perception.

On a show featuring a stellar lineup, which included the epitomes of '90s Bangla rock — Miles, Nagar Baul, Ark, and Dalchhut — alongside Drockstar Shuvo and the prodigious Oni Hasan, with Jon Kabir, Jamshed Chowdhury, and Kazi Zohad Yazdani, perhaps the most delightful scene was seeing a notable number of attendees who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s.

The essence of the events Bangladesh witnessed during the student-led mass uprising in July and August, which escalated into a bloodied revolution, ultimately toppling the regime of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and giving rise to what we now call a new Bangladesh, is truly inexplicable.

The new Bangladesh achieved through the student-led and bloodied revolution in July-August is witnessing the most devastating flood crisis in recent collective memory. However, people from all walks of life promptly responded, collaborating for aid and rescue missions.

In the wake of two triumphant editions, the third edition of the exhibition of the principal local event celebrating the practice of photojournalism in the country, the “Bangladesh Press Photo Contest 2024”, lifted its curtains yesterday. While the exhibition is taking place on the second floor, the inaugural event took place in the house-full eighth-floor gallery of the capital's DrikPath Bhobon.