Sneha Sikand of Saffronart on the latest entrant in the art fair scene

Dhaka: Held at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy from 12 to 15 of April this year, the first ever Dhaka Art Summit (DAS) saw the spotlight focused on  Bangladeshi artists, as the newest players in the world of South Asian art. A total of 249 local artists were featured at the summit. Funded by the Samdani Art Foundation (a non-profit art infrastructure development organization) in collaboration with the Bangladesh National Museum, and the Shilpakala Academy, the aim of DAS was to increase public awareness about the art and artists of Bangladesh, which is why the summit only featured artists practicing within the country. With very little gallery representation in the country, the summit offered artists a new  opportunity for international exposure .

Rajeeb and Nadia Samdani, leading collectors from Bangladesh and co-founders of the DAS wanted the event to create “positive awareness” about the country’s art community. With the great amount of international media coverage and visitors that the summit received, they feel that it carries forward the trend set by the India Art Fair. 

Apart from the exhibit itself, the summit also featured seminars highlighting the growth of South Asian art in the international market, and the role of Bangladeshi art in it. The seminars were conducted by experts from Tate Modern and Rossi & Rossi Gallery among others. At the closing of the DAS the Samdani Artist Development Award was presented to Khaled Hasan for his work Terror beat of Acid and the Samdani Young Talent Award went to Musrat Reazi for her work Moorang.

Read more about the summit.