October 10th marks the 29th death anniversary of the world-renowned artist SM Sultan.

The Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) has organised a two-day art exhibition, art camp, children's letter-writing exhibition, Palagan, puppet drama exhibition, and a discussion meeting from October 9 to 10.

Photo: Collected

On the first day of the two-day event, a wreath was placed at the portrait of artist SM Sultan at the National Chitrashala Bhaban of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy at 4 pm on Monday. Following this, the exhibition was officially inaugurated with the artworks of artist SM Sultan and paintings created by children from the Children's Paradise.

Liaquat Ali Lucky, the director-general of the academy, inaugurated the programme as the chief guest. Later, he visited the gallery with children and highlighted the life of artist SM Sultan and various aspects of his paintings to the children.

A total of forty paintings by world-renowned artists are being displayed at the National Art Gallery. Additionally, paintings by various artists from the country have also been included in the exhibition. The exhibition will run from October 9 to 17.

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After the opening of the exhibition, a brief discussion session was held. Syeda Mahbuba Karim, the director of the Fine Arts Department, delivered the welcome speech, saying, "Artist SM Sultan did not paint on the canvas as we usually do. Instead, he used a special process with rural mats and made his own colors from soil, bark, and leaves of the trees."

She continued, "The Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy organises various programs every year to keep his memory alive. By hosting this event, we remember him more and more."

The BSA DG expressed, "We are always looking for our places of pride, and those places have been created by great artists like SM Sultan. We must nurture and preserve those sources of glory. No one else has captured the nature of rural Bengal and its society in the way he did, especially in his depiction of farmers."

The academy's children's music team performed the group anthem at the beginning and end of the discussion. Later, the documentary "Adam Surat" on SM Sultan was screened.