Art for Togetherness 2020 to inspire creative content

With the motto, Dure thekeo jure thaki, shilper shoktite, the Art for Togetherness 2020 campaign kicked off recently. Actor Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed's organisation, Together We Can, initiated the project, in association with Mukto Ashor. The campaign aims to inspire creativity and provide a platform to people for showcasing their talents in this time of crisis.

Along with tags, 'Art in the time of corona' and 'Power of Art', the campaign will launch a competition online, where anyone can participate and showcase their works.  The competition has the following categories: photography, painting, sculpture, cartoon, illustration, songwriting, instrumental, short story, poem and short film. There's a separate category for children as well. The category for adults, under the themes, 'Life in a new dawn,' 'what's the best gift you can give to your new generation' is also open for any submission.

In the children's category, anyone under the age of 12 can participate under the themes, 'I want to break free', 'we are all one', with the artworks of their choice.

The selected works will be exhibited and sold at an online platform. The best literary works will be launched in a book and the short films and digital content will be showcased online. The proceeds from the exhibition will be donated towards underprivileged communities who are most affected by the coronavirus crisis.

All original and unpublished artworks have to be submitted by midnight on April 29, at  art.for.togetherness@gmail.com.

Eminent artists Sheikh Afzal, Jamal Ahmed, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Mustapha Khalid Palash and Devdatta Ganguly will curate the paintings and sculptures.

Prominent photographers Mahmud Rahman, Sazzad Hossain, Tahsin Rahman, Shahadat Parvez, Nasif Imtiaz and Mala Mukherjee will curate the photographs, while Nurul Alam Atique, Dipankar Dipon, Kamal Bayezid, Leesa Gazi, Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, Anirban Chakraborty and Abhijit Chowdhury will curate the short films.

The curators for the children's corner are Ahsan Habib, Selina Hossain, Jayanta Chatopadhyay, Mohammad Ali Hayder, Bonna Mirza, Nobonita Chowdhury, Monirul Islam, Lutfor Rahman Riton and Smarok Roy.

Anisul Hoque, Rashida Sultana, Shahjahan Shourov, Shubhasish Sinha, Sadik Hossain and Anirban Majumder will select the short stories and poems, while Sabyasachi Hazra, Morshed Mishu, Reesham Shahab Tirtho, Upal Sengupta and Wahid Ibn Reza will curate the cartoons and illustrations.

Shafi Mondol, Rafa, Upal Sengupta, Armeen Musa, Gourab Chatterjee, Russell Ali, Raja Kasheef and Rubaiyat Jahan will select the musical submissions.