Organised by Drik, a ten-day photography exhibition, titled “Snippets Behind Bars and Other Related Stories”, is currently underway at the DrikPath Bhobon, Panthapath. The opening ceremony of the exhibition was held on March 10. Photojournalists Shafiqul Islam Kajal and Al Mamun Jibon, along with other participants, were present at the ceremony.

Faria Ibrahim, better known as Farja, is a travelling artist and musician who loves to paint and perform. Having completed her Bachelor’s in Design Studies in Architecture from the University of Adelaide in Australia, she went on to pursue her Master’s in Urban Planning and Design at KTH - The Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. The artist shares her inspirations, and experiences in a candid chat with The Daily Star.

Organised by Paraa as a part of the Chol X Shama Kun fashion campaign, a photo exhibition, titled ‘It’s not My Clothing, It’s Your Eyes!’, is currently underway at the Paraa studio. The exhibition started on February 12 and will end tomorrow.

Arcadia Arts Gallery, located at the heart of Banani, opened with an important group show recently. The exhibition, which began on February 16, is showcasing artworks of some of the most eminent artists of the country and beyond, such as Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hasan, SM Sultan, Alakesh Ghosh, Ivy Zaman, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, and Kalidas Karmakar among others. The co-founders of this hub, Khan Rezaul Hoq and Arneeb Chaudhury, are distinguished art collectors.

Empowered by the spirit of the Language Movement, COLOURS, a collective of contemporary female artists, recently organised an art exhibition at Studio 6/6, Mohammadpur. Titled “Ekusher Chetonay”, the exhibition began on February 25, and will go on till March 6. It was inaugurated by renowned artist Professor Naima Haque from University of Dhaka and actor Bhaskar Bandyopadhyay.

Photographers Dream BD recently organised a photo exhibition, ‘Capture Your Dreams 2021’, at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Chitta Ranjan Das, Councilor of Dhaka South City Corporation, was the chief guest at the event. Among 4000 photographs, 295 were selected from the final round in four categories: Mobile photography, DSLR photography, Wedding photography and Drone photography. The selected photographs were on display at the exhibition.

Renowned artist, critic, and activist Nisar Hossain’s solo art exhibition “Shat Bochorer Khatiyan” is underway at Gallery Chitrak. It was launched on February 19, and will conclude on March 19, 2021. Gallery Chitrak inaugurated their journey in their new location at Dhanmondi with this exhibition.

‘Maa-Maati-Manush-Swadesh-Bhasha-Prokkriti (Mother-Earth-People-Homeland-Language-Nature)’ is a site-specific installation by Bishwajit Goswami near Bakkhali River at Moheshkhali, in association with Brihatta Art Foundation. Artist and professor Bishwajit Goswami envisions to tell an artistic story rooted in a unique environment, creating an atmosphere for cultural and linguistic exchange.

While the world celebrates International Mother Language Day, the special edition of Chobi Mela, in association with their cultural partner Colomboscope, sets a thought-provoking linguistic intervention through ‘Anatomies of Tongues’.

Ever since its inception in 2012, Jog Art Space has been working with artistes and viewers to create a space that allows cultural conversations to bloom. By allowing people to interact and connect, it has blended various art forms into a multidisciplinary street art show. Their collective exhibition, entitled "Cheragi Art Show Bhinno'' is currently underway in "Chobi Mela Shunno”, at DrikPath Bhobon, Panthapath.

Noted architect Bashirul Haq passed away in April 2020. He had designed DrikPath Bhobon, the venue for this year’s “Chobi Mela”. “Wishing Tree”, an exhibition featuring Haq’s seminal works, is being hosted at the festival, in honour of him.

"[Off] Limits", a group exhibition currently underway in "Chobi Mela Shunno” at DrikPath Bhobon, features projects by fourteen South Asian artistes. Yasmin Jahan Nupur’s ‘Time could not be kept at bay’ is one of the featured artworks in the exhibition, which includes performance photographs, text display and a video.

In its array of collaborative initiatives, “Chobi Mela Shunno” introduced ‘Chapakhana Archive’, a research project. On the fourth floor of the DrikPath Bhobon, an excerpt of a nine-month project, exploring documents and local histories of print in Dhaka and its production technologies, is on display. The framework of the exhibition comes from Mara Züst’s research for her project, ‘Kolkata — City of Print’, in association with Pathshala.

"Go Back To Roots'', a solo project by artist Joydeb Roaja, is currently on exhibit in "Chobi Mela Shunno'' at DrikPath Bhobon, Panthapath. It features 10 artworks, along with a video, and attempts to highlight the cultural identities of indigenous communities in the hill tracts of Chattogram.

`cMarking Solidarity Day, students of the ninth batch of Pathshala honoured Ashrafi, also known as the Chobiwala of Bihari Camp Bazaar at “Chobi Mela Shunno''. A temporary studio was set up at the rooftop of DrikPath Bhobon, which not only allowed the audience to interact with the photographer, but also to get soaked in nostalgia. In a candid conversation, Ashrafi shared his story with The Daily Star.

“[Off] Limits”, a group exhibition currently underway in “Chobi Mela Shunno” at DrikPath Bhobon, features projects by fourteen South Asian artistes. As a part of the festival’s intention of celebrating and promoting art, the photographs on display focus on life amidst the pandemic, while also looking back at the past to reminiscence over elements that have been forgotten.

Najmun Nahar Keya’s artistic journey began in Old Dhaka, where she grew up in the midst of beautiful architectural wonders and a family that encouraged her creative aspirations. Her artworks exhibit her inclination towards nostalgic memories, associated with archival photographs of her family, architectural beauty, new materials, recent societal and global political events, and personal experiences. Keya co-curated many shows before, but her first ever solo curated show is “Frozen Song”, an exhibition inspired by architect Bashirul Haq, currently underway at “Chobi Mela Shunno”.

In the podcast episode, ‘Contemporary Dissent – Echoes of the 80’s’ by “Chobi Mela Shunno'', Lotte Hoek and Catherine Masud share their experiences, looking back at their journeys in the late 1980’s and early 2000’s in Bangladesh. They talk about the parallels and differences in their journeys.

''Chobi Mela Shunno'', currently underway at DrikPath Bhobon, celebrated Solidarity Day on February 15. A panel discussion featuring female journalists and photojournalists was held on that day. Moderated by Saydia Gulrukh, the discussion featured Joyeeta Roy, staff journalist at Bangladesh Protidin, Sabina Yasmine, staff photojournalist at Prothom Alo, Sadia Marium, member of the Kaali collective and Zyma Islam, staff reporter at The Daily Star.

The special edition of Chobi Mela features a series of podcasts that include themes ranging from collective narratives to echoes of the 80s, thinking contexts, conversations and many more sharing of ideas in and around defining and (re)defining the meaning and interpretation of images. The podcast series is curated by artiste Munem Wasif who handpicked speakers ranging from artists to curators, filmmakers, writers, musicians and others.