Bangladesh Art Week organises Virtual Charity Auction 2020
Bangladesh Art Week (BAW) completed their first virtual charity auction for the benefit of artists, musicians, athletes and support staff impacted by COVID 19. The auction, held on June 19, 2020 was conducted by Anis A Khan, an eminent banker, and a keen enthusiast of art and cricket. All proceeds from the event will go to charity. The auction had items in four categories -- paintings, sculptures, musical and sports memorabilia. Paintings were from renowned artists like Monirul Islam, Mahmudul Huq, Mohammad Eunus, Jamal Ahmed, Mohammad Iqbal, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Rina P Soemarno, Dilara Begum Jolly, Rokeya Sultana, Firoz Mahmud and Sanjoy Das. The sculptures were from Hamiduzzaman Khan and Ivy Zaman. Ten out of the thirteen paintings offered for auction and all the sculptures were sold. A highlight of the auction was a painting by the Indonesian Ambassador, HE Rina P Soemarno Yuwono, which was bought for BDT 67,000. The reserve price of which was set at BDT 25,000. All sports memorabilia as well as two vinyl records signed by Lionel Richie and Billy Joel were reserved for the next auction.
The event was also attended by HE Rina P Soemarno, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Indonesia to Bangladesh and His Excellency Amir Farid Abu Hasan, Acting High Commissioner of Malaysia to Bangladesh. Niharika Momtaz, Founder of Bangladesh Art Week said, "Almost half of the winning bids were from Non-Resident Bangladeshis. While the live auction is over, we still have an ongoing silent auction which will end on June 26 at 11:59 pm BST."
This includes artworks from Hamiduzzaman Khan, Rokeya Sultana, Dilara Begum Jolly, Preema Nazia Andaleeb, Firoz Mahmud and books from Omar Khalid Rumi. Moreover, looking at the widespread enthusiasm of the participants, the BAW management plans to hold more such auctions in the near future. Md Mohsin, Co-founder of BAW said that they have received positive feedback for the auction, which will be considered for all their future events.