ART AGAINST FAKE NEWS exhibited at Cosmos Centre

The exhibition, titled 'Art Against Fake News', was organised by Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos Atelier71 as part of Cosmos Dialogue on fake news and hate speech. Photo: Courtesy

With an aim of promoting art to reduce the spread of misinformation and fake news, a group exhibition was held at the Cosmos Atelier 71 in Malibagh, Dhaka on April 6.

The exhibition, titled Art Against Fake News, was organised by Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos Atelier71 as part of Cosmos Dialogue on fake news and hate speech. The exhibition featured 30 artworks by 24 renowned and promising artists.

Eminent artist Mustafa Monwar inaugurated the exhibition as chief guest, while artists Samarjit Roy Choudhury and Rafiqun Nabi were present as special guests. The chief guest appreciated Gallery Cosmos' timely initiative of organising the exhibit against such a menace. “Artists are always against the spread of fake news,” said Mustafa Monwar. Samarjit Roy Choudhury said that the artists will spread positive vibes through artworks to prevent the spread of hate speech. Rafiqun Nabi said that cartoon can be the best medium to retaliate against fake news.

President of the Association for Accountability and Internet Democracy (AAID), Dan Shefet highlighted the contributions of artists towards society at the event. He congratulated the participating artists and appreciated the initiative for such a bold step in today's world, where people are afraid of not being politically correct. “Artists are heroes who will take the society forward,” he added.

Enayetullah Khan, Chairman of Gallery Cosmos, reiterated his sincere wishes to use the artists' platform for focusing on all the challenges of life. “The problem is not country specific; rather it goes beyond border,” said Enayetullah Khan about the spread of fake news. “This challenge (against fake news) will bring all the people of the world on single platform.”

United News of Bangladesh (UNB) Chairman Amanullah Khan, alongside artists Biren Shome, Nisar Hossain, Anisuzzaman, Sourav Chowdhury and Japanese artist Toshihiko Ikeda were present at the inauguration. 

The participating artists were Mustafa Monowar, Rafiqun Nabi, Monirul Islam, Qayyum Chowdhury, Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Abdus Shakoor Shah, Hamiduzzaman Khan, Biren Shome, Kalidas Karmakar, Rokeya Sultana, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Nagarbasi Barman, Nasir Ali Mamun, Alakesh Ghosh, Anisuzzaman Anis, Bishwajit Goswami, Devdas Malakar, Maksuda Iqbal Nipa, Nazia Andaleeb Preema, Prashanta Karmakar, Abdul Gaffar Babu, Sourav Chowdhury and Toshihiko Ikeda.

Cosmos Atelier 71 is also hosting a four-day printmaking workshop at it space. Toshihiko Ikeda is conducting the workshop, that began yesterday. A total of 16 artists including Nagarbasi Barman, Ashraful Hasan, Nevine Sultana, Nityananda Gaine along with guest artists -- Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, Kalidas Karmakar and Biren Shome are taking part in it.