Clicky
All Section, Education & Culture

Bistaar

Story of an intimate arts space


Published : 16 Nov 2019 05:37 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 10:36 PM

When you are in Chattogram, and you have nothing better to do after the day-long seminar, you wonder how you could pass the idle time till dinner. You have seen the Patenga Sea Beach a number of times; you have been to the markets to buy some foreign goods. It is at such times of impending boredom you can simply walk down to a place where you can watch photographs or paintings on exhibition, buy a  piece of local handicraft piece, sit at a quiet corner and listen to some soothing songs while enjoying a cup of tea. The place is like an oasis in the cultural Sahara of Chattogram. Once settled amidst the friendly ambience your frayed nerves will substantially calm down, your spirit will lift up and you will feel profoundly relaxed. Yes, there is a place like this and it is known as Bistaar.

A quick look at Bistaar

“Bistaar: Chittagong Arts Complex, the ultimate arts destination in Chattogram, was founded in December, 2014 with a commitment to bring about a positive change in the art scene of the city through creating a solid and stable platform for the art practitioners, young and old alike. At the same time, it had plans to organize professionally managed, quality arts events in town for the general arts-loving population on a regular basis with an aim to make a lasting impact on the overall wellbeing of the society. Bistaar’s other intention was to bring together the artists and art-lovers of the city in a common platform in order to promote local arts in the national and international arena. Its ultimate goal however was to create a permanent and viable venue for the entire arts community; a venue to support and showcase local artists with exhibition room, performance space and a regular event menu including workshops, lecture series, presentations, and above all making it a meeting place of the creative minds.

“Armed with the hands-on experience of running Bishaud Bangla, a small-scale arts organisation of different ilk, for over nine years, a dedicated group of artists, academics and arts admirers from the cross-section of the society lead by Alam Khorshed, an established writer/translator and Engineer turned Art Manager, got together to form a non-profit Trust called Chittagong Arts Trust and undertook as its first project, the task of building an all encompassing arts facility, they named as Bistaar: Chittagong Arts Complex.

“Some of the highlights of its astounding accomplishments are: an international photography exhibition titled ‘Show Us The World’, jointly organized with the University of Chicoutimi, Canada; South Asian Documentary Film Festival in collaboration with Nepal-based organization Film South Asia; a group photography exhibition of the women photographers of Chattogram in commemoration of the International Women’s Day, solo painting exhibition of one of nation’s leading artists Monsurul Karim, Theater dialogue with master dramaturge Syed Jamil Ahmed, presentations by internationally acclaimed Chinese artist Liu Xiaodong, visionary architect Mustapha Khalid Palash, concert by French singer Vincent Meyer, Swedish singer Anatholi Bulkin, expatriate Bangladeshi musician Sazed Ul Alam, Indian art scholar Professor Ramon Siva Kumar etc. It has also initiated an annual outdoor arts festival since last year, named, Bistaar Arts Festival showcasing exciting entries from all the art forms, which it intends to turn into a global event which will put Chattogram in the international arts map.

“As for the physical space, Bistaar consists of two exhibition galleries, a members’ corner, a cafe named Chatok and a souvenir shop along with two large balconies, perfect for addas. It aspires to become a truly community-based organization with spontaneous participation of the arts-loving members of the city. Keeping this goal in mind, it has set up an attractive membership system. For a nominal one-time subscription fee, any art-loving individual can gain membership of Bistaar and in exchange can enjoy certain benefits including using the fully air-conditioned, aesthetically built members' lounge with wifi facility and a rich resource center. Members have free access to the indoor events and privileged entry to the outdoor programees all year round. By now, Bistaar has been able to attract nearly hundred members who often visit it to relax and refresh themselves with homemade and healthy snacks in the in-house cafe, while making new and meeting old friends over a cup of freshly ground, locally grown organic coffee or aromatic tea.

“Alam Khorshed, its Founding Director, who had returned from abroad permanently a few years back and now dedicates his full time and energy at the helms of Bistaar, has a vision of slowly shaping it into an fully fledged ‘arts village’ in its own and permanent space which will act as a breeding ground of innovative ideas as well as a fountainhead of creativity, becoming an artistic landmark of the city. For this to happen, he and his team will surely need all-out support from us; the Government, the NGOs, the Corporations, the philanthropic organizations, the High Net-worth Individuals and the art-lovers at large.