Dhaka Art Summit announces its 2nd edition

Speakers at the press conference.

The 2nd edition of the Dhaka Art Summit (DAS) will be held from February 7 – 9, 2014 at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) in the city. The event will be organised by the Samdani Art Foundation (SAF) in collaboration with Bangladesh National Academy of Fine and Performing Arts. This novel platform is the first of its kind for the country. The 1st Edition of the Dhaka Art Summit was a ground-breaking initiative, which showcased more than 240 artists in 2012.
On the occasion of its announcement, SAF organised a press conference at Seminar Hall of National Theatre Building yesterday. Nadia Samdani, founder and director of DAS; Rajeeb Samdani, founder and trustee of DAS; Md. Muniruzzaman, noted painter, curator and founder of Gallery Chitrak; Liakat Ali Lucky, director general of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy; curators Mahbubur Rahman and Shehzad Chowdhury spoke at the press meet. Mohammad Wahiduzzaman, coordinator of DAS, was also present.
The 2nd edition brings an international focus to South Asian contemporary art practices. It brings together over 250 established and emerging South Asian artists. The programme includes presentations and several new commissions by artists like Jitish Kallat, Shilpa Gupta, Rashid Rana, Shahzia Sikander, Tayeba Begum Lipi, Mithu Sen, Naeem Mohaiemen and many more.
The upcoming summit will include six curated exhibitions which will focus on cutting edge practices, and showcase artists from the region. An exhibition of Bangladeshi contemporary art, including some of committed, emerging artists, will be curated by Paris- based curator Deepak Ananth. A public art project using hundreds of road signs and billboards conceived by the globally acclaimed Raqs Media Collective and curated by Diana Campbell Betancourt will challenge notions of time and space across the city of Dhaka. Under Betancourt's direction, around 12 solo projects will present in depth perspectives to the work from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Afghanistan, most of which are large scale new commissions supported by the Samdani Art Foundation.
The summit will also present performances and experimental film screenings by artists from the South Asian region, curated by Mahbubur Rahman. Italian Curator Rosa Maria Falvo will present an exhibition of Bangladeshi photography. Md. Muniruzzaman will curate a show with established Bangladeshi artists. Indian curator Veerangana Solanki will curate a show with Indian contemporary artists and Pakistani curator Ambereen Karamat will curate a show with Pakistani contemporary artists. Shehzad Chowdhury will also curate a show with Bangladeshi artists. The 2nd edition of Dhaka Art Summit will include a panel of talks, focused on the development of South Asian art.
SAF will also present an exhibition of 10 short- listed artists for Samdani Art Award during Dhaka Art Summit. SAF announces its partnership with the Delfina Foundation of United Kingdom for an international residency for the Samdani Art Award winner.
The main partner for the 2nd edition will be Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and the co- partners are British Council, Goethe Institute, Alliance Francaise de Dhaka, Britto Arts Trust and Inditex Chair of Spanish Language and Culture.