For a little bit of space

Photo: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

With all the traffic jams, hours of being held up on the way to work and witnessing hordes of people coming into the capital for work and a better life, Dhaka city is simply a chaos. We look for a little bit of space, not only to breathe, but also to express out thoughts, voice out or simply appreciate. 

With the recent Longitude Latitudes projects, Shehzad Shahriar Chowdhury is doing just that – creating a space for human expressions. "A space- any space that is not conventionally used as a space to create or view Art. A space- in transition, as spaces are always in transition. Space and time are the essences that we use for this metamorphosis," explains Chowdhury. "So we pick these spaces in transition and make them temporary Art Hubs. Be it an apartment that will be shifting tenants, or a house that will be broken down to make way for new apartments or just a space that had been sitting empty. Any space will do as long as it is taken over, temporarily, by the 'unacknowledged legislators of the world,' the artists and the poets."

Chowdhury, the artist, curator and also the wanderer, says that as everybody keeps battling for space to create and share art with the world – this simple concept is a powerful tool to take control back in hands and showcase work. "We were looking for a name that would go well with our concept/idea," he says. "It had to deliver a very simple message that's universally understood. Our message was; Art is possible anywhere anytime. Since the space was nowhere and everywhere it was a challenging task. A friend of mine, architect Ronjon Rabbani, suggested the title Longitude Latitudes and I concurred. It was our plan to have shows all over Bangladesh and abroad, even back in 2003. This title connotes to coordinates in space and it could be anywhere from a bathroom in Mymensingh to a beach in Pechar Deep or a bar in San Diego. It was a fitting name for the event."

Photo courtesy: LL

Growing up in Dhaka next to the Baldah Gardens in the older part of town, everyday would feel like a day of festivity for Chowdhury. "Since my dad was an Engineer in the army, we had to move around a lot and and live in beautiful and serene places," he says. An integral part of the growing art scene in Bangladesh, Chowdhury feels that Bangladeshis are indeed a resourceful and enterprising people. "And we have an amazing learning curve," he says. "A lot of fresh blood has come to the scene and they are making their presence felt. What's even better is the economic surge in the recent era has created a certain demand for creative professionals. An enterprising creative individual can make things happen in the society. But a lot more patronage is necessary. People with resources need to identify with the local artists, musicians and artisans and become their patrons. A sense of belonging needs to take place on both ends, patrons and connoisseurs need to value the local art scene from their respective community and support them, and artists need to make art that's contextual in their community."

The Longitude Latitude projects, have been a great success to date and continue to be so. "The response had been amazing this year," adds Chowdhury. "Since for the 6th edition of LL, we had the space for four months, thanks to Bay Developments Ltd; we could do so much more with the space. There had been an array of workshops and talks and events. From Storytelling to Yoga, from animation to papier mache workshop for kids, we tried our best to push the capacity of the space to its limit. Ayreen Khan, who is the anchor of this operation was instrumental to pull this off. Mahzabin Haque Rothy and Amdadul Huq had been just wonderful curatorial assistants to this initiative. Since this edition was in North Dhaka, spectators have been very appreciative and repeatedly told us that there is a lack of such creative spaces in North Dhaka. The Friday initiatives for children which we did with the help of iCan foundation was a huge hit for kids and parents alike."

The concept is indeed very simple – making use of the little space that we can spare for such projects. Surely, this will lead to a lifetime of happiness for growing souls around the country. "We want people to start taking initiatives and setting up spaces in their respective communities that encourage such interactions," Chowdhury explains. "It can be under any banner or no banner at all! Art is the universal language that requires little or no interpretation. So let it shine with all its glory, let it melt the stone of hatred and bigotry in our hearts, let it wake people up to creative solutions, let it make us more mindful beings that's sensitive to our neighbour's needs. To me Art=Consciousness=Love."