Cutting edge art in Bangladesh

Liakat Ali Lucky, director general of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, also member of the organising committee of Dhaka Art Summit '14 is an articulate observer on Bangladeshi art and the momentous event coming up next year:
Lucky feels that Bangladeshi art is at the cutting edge. The Asian Art Biennale has become a fixture in the city over the years. In recent years, Bangladeshi artists have taken part at the Venice Biennale. Asian Art Museum Directors' Forum was recently held in the city. The 1st Edition of the Dhaka Art Summit was a ground-breaking initiative, which showcased more than 240 artists in 2012.
The 1st edition also included the participation of 18 local galleries, six Speaker's Panel and several theme-based exhibitions throughout the capital. The four-day event saw a turnout of over 50,000 visitors both local and international which included representatives of various international museums, galleries, auction houses, artists, critics and collectors.
All these are very positive signs for Bangladeshi art. The second edition of the Dhaka Art Summit will promote cultural and artistic interactions of over 250 artists from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Afghanistan. Lucky said, “The summit aims to be an exposure and also a platform for communication among artists, curators, critics and art enthusiasts. In the first edition, the focus was on promoting Bangladeshi artists. The summit changed the perception and the overwhelming response reaffirmed that we are heading in the right direction.”
The art biennial, organised by the Samdani Art Foundation in collaboration with Bangladesh National Academy of Fine and Performing Arts, will be held from February 7 -9, 2014.
Lucky said, “The solo projects will present in-depth perspectives of the artists' works while curated exhibitions will focus on cutting-edge practices. Samdani Art Foundation wants to promote the idea that art doesn't belong to a certain section of the society. Art can be in many shapes and purposes.
“The upcoming summit is concentrating more on the South Asian region. The summit doesn't aim to focus on galleries; rather the focus is on promoting artists and solo projects.”
The entire summit will be overseen by a curatorial team that includes international curator Diana Campbell Betancourt. The celebrated artists who will be participating in Dhaka Art Summit 2014 are: Jitish Kallat, Shilpa Gupta, Rashid Rana, Shahzia Sikander, Mithu Sen, Naeem Mohaiemen, Rana Begum and many more from South Asia.