Greetings! The first ever shutter art in Bangladesh
Greetings!
After a long journey from Dhaka
or even further away, you are greeted by colorful graffiti and artwork as soon
as you get off the bus and arrive in your hometown. Your eyes are satisfied,
your heart is content from the beauty of the dazzling art on the shutters of
the shops and establishments on both sides of the road. It tells you the story
of the city you belong to, in diverse ways, through different lens. How would
you feel?
You get on the rickshaw and find
some food for thought even before the city has woken up and it has given you a
good start of the day. On the way, through the art on both sides, you interpret
the story in your own way, the rickshaw puller uses his imagination to read
that narrative through his life experiences. Someone new will have another
level of welcome to the city, through the aesthetics of art and the creative
application of colours in beautiful
artwork, in both the golden light of the morning Sun and the neon lights during
twilight hours.
Those who won’t have the time or
opportunity to visit the elite galleries to experience the work of the famous
artists, for them these will offer constant exposure to the beauty of art and
help them constantly appreciate the beauty of their city, knowing the different
building and shops, but also the identity of their beloved hometown. A feeling
of eternal festival will be born, while the beauty of art will pervade in the
hearts of the residents of the city. During weekends, people will be more
relaxed to look at the city in new ways, taking in the beauty when the whole
city is a big canvas of artwork. This will ensure art appreciation for not only
a select few, but for the common people of the city. The art exhibition will
always be open, even when the shops are closed.
Some cities in the world have
taken this initiative, but not in Bangladesh. It will be the first time in
Khulna and this is not possible for one person only. This requires committed
effort from a dedicated group of people. A boutique shop named ‘Nonavumi ’,
located at 57 Sher-E-Bangla Road, Amtala is where people from various creative
professions converge, and they fondly call Nonavumi the Shantiniketon of
Khulna.
I joined them. I found Nonavumi after leaving
a corporate career behind in the capital of the country, with the intention of
coming back to my roots and chasing m dreams in life after forty in the city
where I began. Making the city more alive through the magic of shutter art- it
was the dream of some of the youth from the Charukala department of Khulna University Batch 99 and
02. After hearing about this dream from the likes of Shipar and Moni Majhi,
I
joined the conceptualization and visualization efforts.
My long experience of
working in advertising agencies convinced me that this dream can’t be stopped
because of financial resources. I bought the art ingredients and accessories
(paint and brush) from the rent money. Imroz, Shipar, Iftekhar, Sandip, Utpal,
Utsob joined the group in the beautification project and made the dream a
reality through working day and night. They started off with the shutters of Nonavumi , bringing the café, purity shop and boutique, all under the same
roof. A new adventure began in the guise of a new art movement. Shelly bhai, a
respected journalist in the community constantly encouraged us in this bold
initiative.
Khulna has an incredible
potential for tourism, but surprisingly tourist are seldom seen here. Tour
operators receive the tourists in Jeshore airport and take them directly to
either the Sundabans or away from the city. There is currently no notable
citizens’ initiative to make Khulna attractive to the tourists. Shutter art can
be an auspicious beginning for tourism for the city. Fairs can be organized
around the shutter arts during the weekends, where people can sell homemade
products to the tourists.
Shutters will come down and art
exhibition will start. A closure will pave the way for a beginning. It doesn’t
mean that the shops will need to remain closed. Innovative shutter art will
create an ambience of beauty that will attract more customers. Aesthetics sense
of the shop owners will be praised and appreciated by all. Colorful graffiti
and motif will lead to stronger appreciation of the art and the city and convey
the message of greater unity and solidarity among the people. The rickshaw
pullers, the porters and other hard working people, whose work keep us alive
but who don’t have access to art galleries, will be able to enjoy this
universal art, available for all. This art will let them appreciate beauty ,
creativity and imagination and fall in love with art. It can be folk art, or a
fusion between Oriental and Occidental art. It can grow into a movement, an
attempt to rejuvenate the city, to rediscover itself. It can be an open call to
everyone to find new ways, a citizens’ canvas for creating a new narrative. A
narrative that will come alive in light, in darkness, over the weekends and in
the neon light during twilight. May be a couple will seek shelter in heavy
rain, while imagining new stories for themselves. Let them.
N.B. This work was complete in
six days. A new art movement came to life a day before the Victory Day, on
December 15th, as a tribute to this day.
Greetings from Nonavumi movement
On behalf of the movement
Kishore
(Graffiti, motif and visual
content of the shutter art movement awaiting copyright)
Contact:
Kishore
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