19th Asian Art Biennale postponed till February 2022

The 19th edition of the month-long Asian Art Biennale has been postponed once again due to the ongoing global pandemic.

Known as one of the grandest art extravaganzas in the world, the 19th edition will now be welcoming the art enthusiasts from home and beyond at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) from February 01, 2022, till March 31, 2022.

The curtain for the 19th biennale was scheduled to be lifted on November 01 and the time for the exhibition was extended till December 31st, this year.

Previously, the festival was shifted on March 01, 2021, from the initial timeline, December 01 to 31, 2020. The international festival was then rescheduled last year due to the increasing havoc of Covid-19.

According to the BSA authority, this special edition of the biennale exhibition will be dedicated to the Birth Centenary of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Golden Jubilee of the independence of Bangladesh.

The 18th Asian Art Biennale hosted artists from 68 countries and the 19th edition is expecting to welcome artists from 100 countries to join this special art extravaganza. The two-month-long exhibition will display two and three-dimensional artworks such as painting, prints, photography, sculpture, installation, new media art etc.

A two-day seminar has been rescheduled to be organized on February 2nd and 3rd, 2022 at the auditorium of the National Art Gallery. The topic of the seminar is "Home and Displacement".

"We are eyeing for a regular event like the previous years; however, we will also be closely monitoring the ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19 situation and act accordingly," BSA Public Relation Officer Hasan Mahmud previously informed UNB. 

Artists and art curators across the world are invited to submit their artworks before October 15, 2021. Interested participating artists aged above 22 years and who have participated in at least two national-level exhibitions (for Bangladeshi participants) are welcome for registration in the 19th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh, according to BSA.

Participating artists may apply through email with soft copies of participation documents or directly with hard copies of relevant documents through courier or in-person to the organizers' office at BSA.

Since 1981, 18th editions of this international art exhibition have successfully been organized, cementing its legacy as the longest-running international art biennale event in Asia. From the 17th edition in 2016, countries from the Europe and America regions are participating continuously at the Asian Art Biennale.

Details of the exhibition are available on the official Facebook pages of BSA and Asian Art Biennale, and the official website at https://www.asianartbiennale.org.bd/.