Endeavour
A Crowd of Art and Creativity
The interior has vibrant coloured rickshaw painting.
The decor has both a rural and urban flavour.Haatkhola represents a fine blend of Bangladeshi art, culture, and history. When we say Haatkhola, we can visualise an open space under a banyan tree where people from a diverse background come and share their culture. This Haatkhola, is also similar in nature, but in a different form. The Haatkhola mentioned here, is a cultural centre in Chittagong that has a number of delights to offer to its viewers. From exhibitions in the art gallery through music and food to poetry reading session, it is a space which loves to mix art, music, film, and eatery.
“We have a café which is open every day from 10:00am to 9:00 pm. While your taste buds will enjoy some good food, your artistic mind will have a chance to look at paintings or listen to poetry and songs. We are attempting to make this locale a vibrant cultural epicentre of Chittagong,” says Yusuf Muhammed, the coordinator of Haatkhola, “While planning for the gallery, I did not want to leave the gallery alone just by itself. I thought that if a café accompanied the gallery, Haatkhola would be more appealing and comfortable to the art lovers.”
Haatkhola is a creation of 35 individuals coming from different fields. “We, a group of similar minded fellows decided to start this project. We felt that Chittagong demands to have an art gallery which will showcase its people's past and contemporary life,” Yusuf says.
Haatkhola has a number of delights to offer to its viewers.Having this beautiful idea in their mind, they decided to bring the concept into reality. Hence, on September, 2013 the gallery was inaugurated by eminent artist, Rafikun Nabi.
“It is not the first time that Chittagong has an art gallery, for different reasons the previous art galleries could not sustain. The enthusiasm and the dedication that I have seen in the organisers of Haatkhola will help it to make it a hub of creativity for Chittagong," he optimistically says.
The name Haatkhola depicts the idea the organisers have had in their mind. “In the rural part of our country the term Haatkhola represents a meeting place where people come, get together and exchange their ideas. Haatkhola welcomes everyone, from every walk of life. We wanted this gallery and café to represent that culture,” Yusuf elaborates.
“When I was asked to make the logo, what I liked most is the gallery's inclination to our desi culture,” says Sabyasachi Hazra who has done the typography of the logo.
The art gallery show cases creative expression; hence the interior also demands to bring out the playfulness of art too. Haatkhola's décor is a combination of imagination and innovation of young architect Ador Yusuf.
“I tried to pick up elements from both the rural and urban context and attempted to convert them into a complete package,” says Ador. Rickshaw is a vital part of our urban life, hence the doorways, cash counters and the edge of the walls are adorned with vibrant coloured rickshaw paints. Instead of a boring four legged tool, the café has sitting arrangements similar to rickshaw seats. On the other hand the clay coated walls, the hanging hurricanes and the wooden railings have created a rural ambience. “I have also tried to experiment with the waste we have around and refined and reused them while decorating this place.” Floors are made of the age old wood used in the ships, some of the tools are the refined version of the rejected tires. The gallery has also provision for the artists who want to indulge in creativity by sitting in nature. People gather in the full moon once a month on the rooftop to celebrate “Jochona Utshob.” Sitting amidst the greenery while the moon keeps showering its magical beams on them, they sing thematic songs, recite poetry and recall their memories about full moon. Thus Haatkhola gives people a break from their hectic life, where they could hardly enjoy a full moon.
Why Haatkhola stands out from any other meeting place? It can be perceived as an artistic movement to give the young artists a platform so that their talent does not fade out. Haatkhola is hopefully a beginning of a continuous tread.
The gallery has also provision to sit outdoors and make paintings.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments