Shawdesh Desk:

Great news pouring on for connoisseurs of art. International photography festival’s 11th edition ‘Chobi Mela Shunno’ has now gone virtual.

Organised by Drik Picture Library and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, the special hybrid edition of the biggest photo festival kicked off in the capital on February 12 and concluded on February 21.

Now, the festival will be on the web for the next six months, all thanks to renowned art agency ARTcon. The virtual exhibition was launched on the closing date of its physical edition in Dhaka.

Art enthusiasts from home and abroad have lauded the online initiative.

ARTcon founder and Chief Creative Officer at Cosmos Books, ARK Reepon, told UNB that the online exhibition “is transcending the barriers of time, regions and other roadblocks”.

“We have converted the entire DrikPath building and the artworks into virtual reality so that audiences can explore the exhibition as exactly what it was in the physical format. Those who could not visit the festival physically due to the pandemic or other reasons will now be able to experience it in the 3D virtual space,” Reepon said.

He added, “The initial concept crossed our minds when we were in talks with Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) regarding a similar initiative on the upcoming 19th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2021, the physical exhibition of which was postponed last year due to the emergence of Covid-19.

“However, the idea of this virtual exhibition was then welcomed by Drik and after our meeting with Shahidul Alam (renowned international photojournalist and the initiator of Chobi Mela) before the inauguration of the physical festival

And we could proceed to implement the project with advanced technology.”

Reepon said the virtual exhibition is covering every single artwork showcased at the physical event from February 12 to 21, with more detailed descriptions and assistance of virtual guides. “Every corner of the exhibition venue, the DrikPath building, is being projected, including the galleries, staircases and rooftop spaces where the artworks were showcased during the festival.”

“We have implemented cutting edge technology to differentiate the time barriers, as some of the artworks were created to be projected at daylight while some of them required night ambience. So not only this initiative is projecting, documenting and preserving the hard works of the artists, it is also providing an outstanding or even better visual experiences,” he said.

Expressing gratitude to the organisers, Reepon said that this idea can also be implemented for showcasing national monuments such as the Parliament Building where physical viewing is restricted due to security reasons.

“We have the technology and sound knowledge to provide the best visual experience to audiences, so if the government and organisations like BSA proceed to make virtual collaborations with ARTcon on projects like these, I think it will be helpful to everyone, especially the elderly and the handicapped,” Reepon added.

Chobi Mela Shunno’ in Dhaka was joined by a total of 75 artists from countries representing South Asia, this year. Alongside host nation Bangladesh, artists from India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka virtually participated at the event.

The photographs were showcased under eight projects in a total of eight segments, namely Off-Limits, The Rebel with A Smile, Wishing Tree, Frozen Song, Crossroads Collectives’ Intervention, Baba Betar, Chhapakhana Archive, Anatomies of Tongues and projects under the Chobi Mela Fellowship 2021, which was awarded to 14 young artists under the special segment curated by Zihan Karim titled ‘Bodh’, inspired from Jibanananda Das’s poem of the same name.

Tanzim Wahab, ASM Rezaur Rahman and Sarker Protick, along with Anushka Rajendran, Nazmun Nahar Keya and Zihan Karim, curated this year’s Chobi Mela.

Photographic artworks from a total of 32 local and foreign artists were showcased. Participating collectives were Cheragi Art Show (Jog Art Space) from Chattogram, Daagi Art Garage from Dhaka, Kali Collective from Dhaka and Colomboscope from Sri Lanka.

One of the major highlights in this year’s edition has been ‘Baba Betar’ by artist Arfun Ahmed, an experimental art-radio project.

This special edition of the festival also observed and celebrated ‘Drik Day’ on February 13, ‘Pathshala Day’ on February 14, ‘Solidarity Day’ on February 15 and ‘Baba Betar Day’ on February 16.

For the next six months, the virtual exhibition can be experienced on www.chobimela.org or by clicking on the link https://artcon.com.bd/vr/chobimela/.

Since the inaugural edition in 2000, Chobi Mela has been one of the most celebrated photographic events in Asia.