Dhaka Art Weekend: Content creators unite for a cause

From the fiery days of the July uprising to the devastating floods in August, the landscape of Bangladesh's social media underwent quite a transformation. Influencers and digital creators, who typically served up a steady stream of entertainment content, found themselves advocating for change and for a better Bangladesh.

It was as if a collective sense of duty had stirred within them, driving many creators to use their platforms to reach out and help as many people as they could, in any way they could. This sentiment was particularly evident during a lively panel discussion at the two-day event 'Dhaka Art Weekend: Rebuilding with Art,' held at Kawran Bazar's 'Attention Network' on 18 and 19 October. 

The conversations were about how art and social media could intertwine to rebuild and heal. But before diving into the panel discussions and conversations, which certainly were the highlight, let's talk about the artworks on display.

As expected, an event surrounding social media and content creators drew in a crowd of youths who appreciated art. 

It has become a norm for exhibitions to be set up in galleries with bright white walls, which provide a clean backdrop to let the art shine. But at this specific venue, the pieces were set up on canvases and louvre-style partition walls. 

Curated by artist and architect Venessa Kaiser, she tactfully creates a circle with the canvases, with a space to enter the circle and exit with ease. Right after circling the walls and thinking that I had seen the entire collection, I leaned back to see a collection of art pieces spread across a table.

None of these aspects really took away from the exhibition. In fact, it was refreshing to see the youth drawing out their own interpretation of the art pieces around them.

"As an artist and architect, I wanted to push the limit and get creative with installations. I wanted to set an example that any space, even today's venue, can be a space for installations," shared Venessa.  

Venessa was also one of the artists at the event who did live painting at the event. Her piece was a statement on nature and decay and was inspired by her day-to-day encounters.

Contrary to my expectations, the exhibition was not just filled with too many 'beyond the budget' art pieces, they included a diverse collection that started at around Tk500 and went up to around Tk50,000. 

One of the pieces that drew me in was a painting of a sunset at a beach by Sahera Kayenat. The artist used broad brush strokes with vibrant colours to bring the piece to life. 

In line with the theme of the event, Manik Bonik's 'Krishnochura' depicts the branches with the royal poinciana, also known as the flame tree. The bright red hues almost make it seem like the tree is on fire.

But the highlight of the event certainly had to be the panel discussion which included digital creators such as Rakin Absar, Maisha Mahjabeen Priooty, Amrin Tasnim Jaima, Samina Tun Noor and Masud Ashraf Taha. 

Resistance Dhaka United, a youth-led organisation founded on 5 August or as many refer to '36 July', sought to highlight the impact of social media and content creators on social causes while supporting flood rehabilitation efforts. 

Founder Mohammad Mujahid Islam Khan emphasised, "Our main goal is to raise funds for flood victims and raise awareness about the crucial rehabilitation period." 

The event naturally integrated social media, with Mujahid stressing the importance of timely and accurate communication during disasters to ensure help is evenly distributed where needed.

The panel was able to shed light on what content creation looks like, especially during uncertain times such as the floods in Bangladesh. 

Once Rakin Absar mentioned that he felt the pressure of being the 'hero', the majority of the panel nodded their head, as if resonating with his words. He shared how he ended up getting scammed as he donated to unverified sources. 

As the mic was passed to Priooty, a vocal feminist with over 100k followers on social media, took the opportunity to share how women are the most vulnerable in any situation. 

She explains this by sharing a story about how one of her posts regarding the sudden rise of Dhaka's eve-teasing went viral, which brought forward a terrifying reality. As she dug into the shares, she realised many of them were by people who were happy that women were getting harassed.

While the event's focus was on the flood victims and their rehabilitation, it also, surprisingly, showed the other misunderstood aspects of content creators' profession.