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Faiz Ahmed and his passion for art

8 July 2005, 18:00 PM
LIFESTYLE
By Fayza Haq
8 July 2005, 18:00 PM
A portrait of Faiz Ahmed
Faiz Ahmed, the first head of Bangladesh Shangbad Shangtha (BSS), was always fascinated by fine arts, although he himself did not study it academically. Artists like Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hassan and Safiuddin Ahmed shared meals and exchanged ideas with him before the Partition of 1947, and the eventful years that followed. Since 1991 he has run his art gallery Shilpangan to encourage artists. His was the first private gallery, which in 1997 had paintings and prints flown from Europe and USA, with the works of artists like Picasso and Braque, to raise necessary funds for the gallery. Recently there was the exhibit of subcontinental artists, with major artists like Souza and F M Hussain. Shahabuddin exhibited here five times. Today he has two assistants, his nephew Rumi Noman of ATN, and Anukul, a free-lance painter. Although in his late 70s, he is always on the run, constantly advising artists and connoisseurs, and even patrons, in his office room in Dhanmondi.

Coming from a family of zamindars, he was into acting in jatras like Nawab Sirjudaullah and Tipu Sultan and had his poem published in a Kolkata paper when he was in Class VIII. He was into music of various genres, and his exercise books were full of sketches and doodles, rather than the regular school home tasks. He went to Europe as a young man. With his horizons widened by this exposure, his sojourn in India, and his brushing of shoulders with our senior painters, he felt compelled to do something for the paintings, prints and sculpture work that he admired so much.

Asked to compare his gallery with others in the city, Faiz Ahmad comments, "The other art galleries are much newer. At my gallery even noted Bangladeshi artists from overseas, such as, Monirul Islam and Shahid Kabir, have come to hold their solos. Other galleries have sometimes the support of patrons who are into business in a big way, and convert their art galleries into other centres for art. Even Mohammad Muniruzzaman, director of Chitrak, once worked for Shilpangan. Running art galleries is not a child's play and they often fold up a few years after their opening, like 'Gallery Tone', or 'La Gallerie' or even 'Gallery 21'. However, it's not quite fair to pass judgements. One must admit, nevertheless, that one has to keep at it with dedication and diligence -- forfeiting many other interests and preoccupations.

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"There are others that are pure art shops, rather than galleries. They tend to have space enough for crammed displays -- and little room to sit together or have spirited exchange of informative ideas and views. I too have to sell my art works, but that is not my only concern. At Shilpangan, artists are encouraged to come and have regular addas in the evening. Sometimes large joint exhibitions have followed from the work output of these group discussions. There might just be only puffed rice and tea at these sessions; but it's not only views and gossip that prevail in these get-togethers of artists. "

He ended his parley with this brief comment on Bangladeshi artists, " You can't compare them with those from India: our neighbouring country is so vast that if the artists simply turn around and adapt what they can see around them -- dating back to Ajanta and Ellora -- they will flourish. In comparison, in Bangladesh, there's just a handful, like Monirul Islam, Shahabuddin , Shahid Kabir and Kalidas Karmakar, who have made their name overseas."