Jothashilpa hosts cinema banner painting workshop

Cinema banner painting is one of the most popular visual art forms in South Asia. It was initiated as a publicity medium for movie theatres. Subsequently, its inception and evolution is heavily shaped by the growth of the film industry in this region. We can trace back to Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings and popular prints of the 19th century, which were based on western academic style, to understand the origin of cinema banner painting. Non-academic painters played a major role in developing the unique style of cinema banner painting in the Indian subcontinent. The banners carry a distinct visual aesthetic and a larger than life manifestation of cinema.

An art workshop on cinema banner painting, which started on October 5, concluded yesterday at Jothashilpa Studio in Dhaka. It was organised by Jothashilpa, in association with the Samdani Artists Led Initiatives Forum (SALIF). Noted cinema banner painter Mohammad Shoaib conducted the workshop, while artist and researcher Shawon Akand was the curator. Five artists from different parts of Bangladesh participated in the workshop. They were: Rezaur Rahman, Imtiaz Nasir, Rafiqa Majumdar, Muntasib Rahman Anan and Hemahyet Himu.