OPSG organises charity art show ‘Manusher Jonno Chhobi’

Amid the coronavirus crisis, artists Dr Malay Bala, Zahangir Alom and Amit Nandi of Oriental Painting Studio have organised the online-based charity art show, Manusher Jonno Chhobi. Besides, the studio's art organisation, Oriental Painting Study Group (OPSG) and its chief adviser Mikhail I Islam are directly supporting fine art students financially or through sending art materials, together with feeding hundreds of craftsmen, artisans, models and indigenous populations.

More than three hundred paintings on watercolour, oil and acrylic, along with pen drawings, have been uploaded on Malay Bala's Facebook page. The group exhibition has attracted the attention of art collectors. The artists did not set the prices of the artworks. Those who will buy the artworks can decide the prices. Proceeds from the exhibition will be donated to communities that have been harshly affected by the pandemic. So far, several lakhs in BDT have been raised. Art materials or direct financial assistance is also being provided to struggling art students confidentially.  

Malay Bala, Associate Professor, Department of Oriental Art, Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University, elaborated on the initiative. "We have received a great response so far. As the prices have not been fixed, the art collectors are buying the paintings without any hesitation. OPSG advisors Mikhail I Islam, Nusrat Mahmud, Gitanka Debdip Datta, Shwapna Bhowmick, Kaniz Fatema Kanta, Amirul Rajiv and many others are also contributing to the fund," he said.

For over two months, the artists have been carrying out assistance activities. They are providing food and financially assistance to people around DU who are struggling during this pandemic.