Photo: Star

A week-long residential art exchange programme of visual and performing artists, painters, photographers, writers, musicians and designers  from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh ended at the historical Lakhutia Zamindar House premises in Barisal on Friday afternoon.

The prominent personalities  who took part in the exchange programme were Aditi Gupta(architect and art history researcher), Sisir Thapa ( modern contemporary installations expert ) from India, Hamida Khatri ( painter and puppet figure creator) from Pakistan, Tasmin Chowdhury (contemporary textile design installer and art director) , Farhad Rahman, Fahad al Alam (photographers), Shahriar Shihab ( poet and writer), Nazim Uddin Khan (researcher and wild life photographer ), Chandra Sukhen (painter) and Ali Asgor Nayon ( print making and performing artist) from Bangladesh.

At the conclusion of the exchange programme, an Open Studio Day was thrown open to the public from January 8-9.

The session was inaugurated by Mandira Mukherjee from the zamindar family and Shoibal Kanti Chowdhury, Barisal Metropolitan Police commissioner.

“The aim of the programme was to accommodate and sustain an organic environment for the artists to fall in rhythm with the natural sphere and project their insights to fellow artists, ultimately creating a reverberating atmosphere to inspire further projects,” explained Sadya Mizan, curator of the programme.

“The Residential Art Exchange Program (RAEP) is a meeting place for creative individuals to work with a common theme and space, but in different languages,” informed Sushanta Ghosh, local coordinator of the programme.

Both Hamida Khatri of Pakistan and Aditi Gupta from India were fulsome in their praise for the “wonderful experience” at the programme which they would convey to their compatriots.