Scenic setting

The SAARC Cultural Centre, in association with Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, is organising an art camp where about 48 artists from all the SAARC countries will take part. The annual event will be hosted for the first time in Bangladesh from April 9 to April 11.
Nilachal, a scenic tourist spot of Bandarban, is the venue for the camp. This will be the fourth SAARC Artist Camp. The Bangladeshi participants are Abdus Shakoor Shah, Ahmed Shamsuddoha, Abdul Mannan, Nasima Khanom, Atia Islam, Shidhardha Majumdar, Nazrul Agharani, Moyzuddin, Bishwajit Goshwami and others.
On the occasion of the art camp, the organisers held a press conference at National Art Plaza Auditorium of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) on April 7. The speakers talked about the objectives of the camp. Ranajit Kumar Biswas, Secretary of the Cultural Affairs Ministry, was present as the chief guest. Soundarie David Rodrigo, deputy director of SAARC Cultural Centre, Anowar Hossain, director of the Fine Arts Department of the academy and others spoke at the conference. Liaquat Ali Lucky, director general of BSA presided over the programme.
Cultural Minister Asaduzzaman Noor inaugurated the camp. Liakat Ali Lucky, director general of BSA; Tarikul Islam, deputy-commissioner of Bandarban; JLW Samarsing, director of SAARC Cultural Centre; Kumaria Balarushia, governor of south province of Sri Lanka, among others, were present at the inaugural session.   
Along with the camp, a four-day exhibition of artworks by all the participating artists will be held at the National Art Gallery of BSA. The art camp titled “Solidarity with Nature-A South Asian Perspective” is intended to take the artists close to and amidst nature.
The first and second SAARC artist camps were held in Sri Lanka in 2011 and 2012, whereas Maldives held the third camp in 2013. The SAARC Artist Camp has become a platform for artists from SAARC nations to showcase their talent.