Artists from India and Bangladesh, through a range of printmaking creations, argue why the project needs to be promoted through education, experimentation and patronage. By Team Viva

A mere survival of the art is not the aim. The mission is to promote artists and their various art forms for the years to come and make them popular among the global audience.

Confluence: Celebrating India-Bangladesh Printmaking, organised by The Art Route, features a group of printmakers from both the nations who aim to promote the medium of creative expression, which has survived the test of time even after current technological advancement.

Lubna Sen, co-curator and organiser, says, “It has always been our endeavour to promote art forms which deserve a broader platform of recognition. The value of this art needs to be promoted through a framework of education, experimentation and patronage. Confluence was born out of this mission to create something collectively for printmaking to promote a deeper appreciation amongst the collectors and to extend its scope.”

Artist Ananda Moy Banerji says that the artists will present a confluence of body, mind and soul. “Art, culture and sports are the three major wings of a great flight between any two borders and our “confluence” of prints will certainly open up a pragmatic and broader perspective.”

Another main objective of the exhibition is to educate and inform connoisseurs and the public in general about printmaking. The term ‘print’ provides limited understanding for a generation, which is mostly used to the concept of digital prints. The team wants to educate art collectors on the merit of buying prints as an accessible way to start a collection of mature and talented artists.

Nisar Hossain, dean, faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka and co-curator, talks about printmaking in Bangladesh, “It is marked by the contribution of several globally-acclaimed Bangladeshi artists who have brought in the aesthetics from countries like Spain, Greece, Germany, and Japan. The development is further getting deepened now by the commitment of several talented young artists. The show will give the viewers an opportunity to witness the contribution of this eclectic mix of artists.”

The artworks showcased in the exhibition will include various techniques of printmaking — intaglio, relief, serigraphy, mix media — and will also stretch the traditional boundaries of printmaking into the realm of further experimentation.

Rafique Nabi, Bangladeshi artist, explains his area of expertise in printmaking. He says, “Wood has some interesting visual qualities on the surface which help the object of print. I take advantage of its potential to enrich the design. I keep drawings and broken forms for wood-cut to depict the subject of the design while keeping the wood’s fibres and textures to give it a more meaningful look.”

At the end of the festival, the team hopes to have generated appropriate value to the fine art of printmaking through a framework of experimentation, promotion and patronage. There will be a display of portfolio prints, history of printmaking in India. Participants will also organise curated walks of the show, workshops and camps on printmaking, research presentations on printmaking through seminars by senior art practitioners.

The Visual Art Gallery is set to exhibit works of 24 contemporary artists from India and Bangladesh who established a niche of their own with their virtuosity and commitment to the medium. Artists from India are Ajit Seal, Ananda Moy Banerji, Anant Nikam, Dattatreya Apte, Kavita Nayar, Moti Zharotia, Salil Sahni, Sukhvinder Singh, Surender K Mishra, Sushanta Guha, Vijay Bagodi and Walter D Souza. Artists from Bangladesh are Abul Barq Alvi, Anisuzzaman, Mahmudul Haque, Monirul Islam, Nagarbasi Barman, Rafiqun Nabi, Rashid Amin, Rokeya Sultana, SM Roknuzzaman, Saidul Haque Juise, Shahid Kabir and Wakilur Rahman.

(The show begins from January 22 and goes on till 31 at the Visual Art Gallery & Open Palm Court, India Habitat Centre.)