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Noted architect Bashirul Haq passed away in April 2020. He had designed DrikPath Bhobon, the venue for this year’s “Chobi Mela”. “Wishing Tree”, an exhibition featuring Haq’s seminal works, is being hosted at the festival, in honour of him.
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In its array of collaborative initiatives, “Chobi Mela Shunno” introduced ‘Chapakhana Archive’, a research project. On the fourth floor of the DrikPath Bhobon, an excerpt of a nine-month project, exploring documents and local histories of print in Dhaka and its production technologies, is on display. The framework of the exhibition comes from Mara Züst’s research for her project, ‘Kolkata — City of Print’, in association with Pathshala.
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`cMarking Solidarity Day, students of the ninth batch of Pathshala honoured Ashrafi, also known as the Chobiwala of Bihari Camp Bazaar at “Chobi Mela Shunno''. A temporary studio was set up at the rooftop of DrikPath Bhobon, which not only allowed the audience to interact with the photographer, but also to get soaked in nostalgia. In a candid conversation, Ashrafi shared his story with The Daily Star.
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The special edition of Chobi Mela features a series of podcasts that include themes ranging from collective narratives to echoes of the 80s, thinking contexts, conversations and many more sharing of ideas in and around defining and (re)defining the meaning and interpretation of images. The podcast series is curated by artiste Munem Wasif who handpicked speakers ranging from artists to curators, filmmakers, writers, musicians and others.
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Titled ‘Chobi Mela Shunno’, the festival can be interpreted as an amorphous infinite space, or a home that runs parallel with all others.