The appearance of the neglected Rangpur Shilpakala Academy premises has dramatically changed. The town hall premises, which are famous for their culture, have become popular around the new building.
Cultural enthusiasts are observed to be more active. Activities have been going on from morning till night. The cultural activists are excited about the new Shilpakala Academy.
The organizers believe that the newly constructed Shilpakala Academy, pledged by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, will give life to the cultural workers of the region. They believe that this gift of the Prime Minister will further accelerate the efforts for the practice, development, spread and nurture of Bengali culture.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the newly constructed District Shilpakala Academy with state-of-the-art facilities today (Wednesday).
She will inaugurate eight shilpakala academies in the country including the one in Rangpur virtually from Ganobhaban. Apart from Ganobhaban, the inaugural function will be attended by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy auditorium and Narayanganj, Jamalpur, Moulvibazar, Pabna, Kushtia, Khulna, Manikganj and Rangpur Deputy Commissioners' offices.
Preparatory activities for the inauguration of Rangpur District Shilpakala Academy building have already started. Relevant officials including Additional Deputy Commissioner Golam Rabbani and Cultural Officer of Shilpakala Academy Nujhat Tabassum Remu inspected the newly constructed building on Monday afternoon.
Earlier in March, State Minister for Culture KM Khalid visited the newly constructed Shilpakala Academy building in Rangpur.
According to the relevant sources, the new building of the Shilpakala Academy has been constructed in this divisional town at a cost of Taka 27.26 in Rangpur, known as the fertile ground for cultural movement and practice. The construction work has already been completed. The artisans and organizers are overjoyed with the inauguration of the five-story state-of-the-art facility.
It can be seen on the ground that the state-of-the-art Shilpakala Academy building has been constructed on about 45 percent of the land next to the old Shilpakala Academy building in the heart of Rangpur metropolitan town hall. Although the construction work was supposed to start in January 2017, the construction work started after about eight months due to a delay in allocation.
The contracting company has extended the deadline several times as it could not complete the work on time. Now the construction work is just waiting for the official inauguration. The construction project has been implemented by the Public Works Department at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture and with the funding of GoB (Development).
The first and second floors of the new building have large auditoriums with 500 seats. The building also has a car park in the basement, a conference room and art gallery on the second floor, a cafeteria on the third floor, a library on the fourth floor and a well-equipped dormitory on the fifth floor. There are also classrooms, office rooms, trainer rooms and other rooms on different floors of the building. There are many facilities including the latest sound system.
As soon as one enters this huge range of art premises, she or he will see a beautiful terracotta. The historical establishments of Rangpur like Tajhat Zamindar Bari, Zila Parishad Bhaban, Town Hall as well as haribhanga mango and bullock cart, ektara, dotra, flutes and other folk cultural heritage have been highlighted in it. After the completion of the construction work of the building, several test activities have been conducted.
Adjacent to the newly constructed modern Shilpakala Bhaban, the traditional town hall has its own offices of 18 promising literary and drama organizations and other cultural organizations.
Mofizul Islam Mantu said that many cultural organizations have been practicing in this town hall premises for a long time. Everyone hoped that this town would have a modern building to display art and other sculptures.
Today their dream is finally coming true. Razzak Murad, a natya personality and General Secretary of Rangpur Natyakendra, said that modern Shilpakala Bhavan would have a positive impact on the Rangpur region.
Nujhat Tabassum Rimu, Cultural Officer, District Shilpakala Academy, said that all preparations have been made for the inauguration of the new Shilpakala Academy building. Today, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate eight new Shilpakala Academies in eight districts including Rangpur. She also said that this initiative of the government will add a new dimension to the development of the traditional culture of Rangpur division.