Sunbeams students regale viewers

Artist Hashem Khan (C) and chairperson Niloufer Manzur (L) seen at the inaugural function

Talking about the objective of the showorganised by Sunbeams in collaboration with the Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts -- Sunbeams teachers explained that the purpose was to sensitise the children to their environment and enable them to express their inner feelings creatively. In the words of Niloufer Manzur, chairperson of Sunbeams, " We hope and wish that our children's world will be as beautiful and colourful as depicted in the paintings."

Truly the children are artists in the making. The very young children (nursery)have shown scenes from everyday life. Some have done yarn and finger painting with bold colours such as red, pink, yellow and black.

Flora and fauna are in evidence in some of the works. Though the city has lost some of its greenery, nature in all its variety is visible in the paintings. Tasfia Chowdhury, a student of Class Six, has depicted tigers, deer, monkeys, birds and trees in her superb work. While her exposure to wildlife is currently limited to the Dhaka zoo, she hopes to go to the Sunderbans soon. "My aim is to show people why they need to plant more trees," says Tasfia.

Another young talent is Aqeela Khan, a Class Three student. Her painting, a flowerpot on a windowsill looking out to the garden, is rooted in her love of nature. As she says, "From my balcony I can see birds, the lake and at one time I used to study insect life."

Apart from the conventional art works, there are also masks, beaded jewellery, sandpaper paintings, scratch paintings and sounds of animals on display.

The credit for this superb display of art must go to the children and the staff of Sunbeams. The prime movers for the exhibition are Najma Alam, class teacher for nursery who is in charge of nursery curriculum, Shamim Ahmed, art teacher for the junior section, Sayeeda Kamal, who is in charge of the art section in junior and senior school, Annie Islam, who conducts art classes in the senior section and Selina Mustafa, coordinator of extra curricular activities.

Artist Hashem Khan who inaugurated the function, sums it up aptly: "The school aims to nurture and encourage creativity through painting. The children can expand their knowledge about the world around them and develop a love for nature."