Art Fair 2024: Celebrating 14 years of Jolerdhara Fine Arts

Jolerdhara Fine Arts is a comprehensive institution dedicated to teaching paintings to its students. They began their journey in 2010, under artists Biren Shome's direction and Shohag Parvez's supervision, with a month-long watercolour workshop. The workshop was held outdoors in various locations, including Sadarghat, Gabtoli, the Turag River, the zoo, Ramna Park, and Panam City in Dhaka, focusing on watercolor techniques. Renowned artists Monirul Islam, Alokesh Ghosh, Biren Shome, and Shohag Parvez provided hands-on demonstrations throughout the workshop.

Gradually expanding its reach across Bangladesh, they are now holding programmes annually. People of all ages from divisional districts and remote areas participate in the workshops. Each year, the initiative sparks renewed interest in watercolour as a medium. From the outset, Jolerdhara has worked tirelessly to promote watercolour painting throughout the country.

Initially, watercolour was the primary medium of instruction, but they gradually incorporated it into different mediums, transforming Jolerdhara Fine Arts into a fully-fledged institution for art education. The institution now regularly offers diploma courses, exhibitions, art camps, and art trips. This year, Jolerdhara Fine Arts celebrates its 14th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the 5th annual art exhibition, Chitromela 2024, is being held at Illusions Gallery in Lalmatia, featuring 90 artworks by 90 established artists and students from across the country.

The exhibition features 90 artworks by 90 artists, including prominent figures such as Aminul Islam, Qayyum Chowdhury, Monirul Islam, Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, Hashem Khan, Shahabuddin, Rafiqun Nabi, Abdus Shakur, Farida Zaman, Biren Shome, Chandrasekhar Dey, Alokesh Ghosh, Ranjit Das, Jamal Ahmed, Hamiduzzaman Khan, Shishir Bhattacharya, Mohammad Iqbal, Gautam Chakraborty, and Karu Titas, along with young artists and students. The works on display encompass various mediums, including watercolour, line drawings, acrylic, charcoal, pen sketches, and pencil sketches.

On Friday, October 4, the inaugural ceremony will feature guests including artists Hamiduzzaman Khan, Biren Shome, Ranjit Das, and Jamal Ahmed. The exhibition titled Chitromela 2024 at Illusions Gallery will be open daily from 12 PM to 11 PM. It will run until Saturday, October 12, 2024. The inauguration will take place on October 4th, Friday, at 5 pm.