Urban Hours 2nd Season

About URBAN HOURS Project in Curzon Hall : 2015

On the way of our daily life we are used to maintain an urban living style. And the urbanization of Dhaka isn’t proper actually. The traffic system, lack of proper building code, backdated sewer system design, political instability, air pollution, lack of job and drinking water, load shedding, crimes, corruption and so many problems we are facing every day. But Dhaka has its own history with glory and honor. One of the most significant buildings of that glorious time is Curzon Hall. The Curzon Hall is a British Raj-era building and home of the Faculty of Science at the University of Dhaka. The building was originally intended to be a town hall and is named after Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India who laid its foundation stone in 1904. Upon the establishment of Dacca University in 1921, it became the base of the university’s science faculty. The hall was also the scene of the student uprising against the language policy that Mohammed Ali Jinnah tried to impose. When examining the structure of the Curzon Hall, it is easy to see why most believe it is one of the prime examples of architecture in the city. It is a unique combination of Mughal and European designing styles and the traditional artistry of the time was made to blend exquisitely with the modern features.

This public art offers the general and community people a suggestion or an inspiration through artist’s art works. Sometime it may refer to the history. The relationship between artists and artworks depict the image of urban living style and the frustration, in comparison of glorious time. All the artworks reflect our old heritage and modern urbanization. The videos, site-specific installations or performances proposed by “Urban Hours” all revolve around the same analysis: urban “development” – a term itself charged with contradiction – has gone out of control. The artists propose different approaches on the subject, and their views might sometimes differ. But in the end, they shout the same pressing question. How shall we reclaim the city?

                     

  Participant Artists

  1. Abu Nayem Al Zamy Himu, Work- “May Peace Prevail On Earth !”
  2. Arpita Singha Lopa,
  3. Ashim Halder Sagor,
  4. Biplab Biprodas ,
  5. Chiranton Mukhopadhya (India),
  6. Emran Sohel,
  7. Fahim Hossain, Work – Silence uninterrupted
  8. Frederico Evaristo (Brazil),
  9. Jewel A Rob,
  10. Lutfun Nahar Liza, Work – Conversation of two Birds
  11. Mahbubur Rahman, Work – Save the Green
  12. Sanad Kumar Biswas,
  13. Sanjid Mahmud,
  14. Sharker Nasrin Toontoon, Work- Transformation through Migration
  15. Shubho Saha, Work- Letter of Hope
  16. Sohorab Rabbey,
  17. Shapna Samudro, Work – Violencia De Curzon Toppo
  18. Uma Mandal
  1. Abu Nayem Al Zamy Himu

                                        

2. Arpita Singha Lopa

        

 3. Ashim Halder Sagor

                    

4. Biplab Biprodas

           

  1. Chi MUK (India)

                                    

    6. Emran Sohel             

                                                     

    7.  Fahim Hossain

               

8. Frederico Evaristo (Brazil)

                     

9. Jewel A Rob

 

10. Lutfun Nahar Liza

                 

11. Mahbubur Rahman

           

12. Sanad Kumar Biswas

           

13. Sanjid Mahmud

                       

14. Sharker Nasrin Torontoon

                      

   15. SHUBHO SAHA

             

16. Shohorab Rabbey  

                     

17. Shapna Samudro

                      

18. Uma Mandal

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Urban Hours 1st Season

“URBAN HOURS” – A Public Art Project

at ‘ROSE GARDEN’ (an old palace from British period) Humaiyun Saheber Bari,

Organized by BACK ART : 2014

A gate opens in the middle of the concrete jungle and unlocks a vision from another age. A palace stands, lost, almost forgotten, its white walls contrasting with a green lawn ending on the ghat. “Rose Garden” is its name, but the splendor is all past. The first shock of discovery slowly fades away, and the visitor raises its head. All around the ground of the palace are the dull, faceless buildings so ubiquitous in Dhaka, coated in greyish concrete with black security bars protecting against imaginary intruders. It does not take too much imagination to understand how the place makes for a perfect illustration of the city’s contradictions, and why it was chosen by the artists of “Urban Hours” to present their works.

The twenty or so artists behind “Urban Hours” represent a generation of Bangladeshis who were born en masse in cities. There is no remote village for them to take quarters when gargantuan Dhaka becomes too stressful; no regional particularism to take pride in and to help them shape their identity. They are city-kids, another number in the bunch, with the same hopes and fears as their peers. The “urban” they refer to is the great equalizer, an anonymous space where everyone is welcome and undesirable at once. Their city is a place of alienation: the daily war of egos creates a crushing chaos, and fairytale palaces are indeed left to greedy developers. But it is also a site of emancipation, where the laws of religion and the fathers’ customs slowly vanish. Shaping a new sense of collective destiny becomes the task of these newly emancipated individuals.

The videos, site-specific installations or performances proposed by “Urban Hours” all revolve around the same analysis: urban “development” – a term itself charged with contradiction – has gone out of control. The artists propose different approaches on the subject, and their views might sometimes differ. But in the end, they shout the same pressing question. How shall we reclaim the city?

                             

           

PRESS RELEASE

“URBAN HOURS” – AN INDEPENDENT ARTISTIC PROJECT REFLECTING ON THE CHALLENGES OF URBANIZATION

“Urban Hours” is an artistic project presented by more than 20 visual artists from different disciplines, which reflects on the challenges posed by unchecked urbanization in Bangladeshi cities. It will be proposed to the public on 3rd December 2014 in Rose Garden, a “jamindar bari” situated in the vicinity of Motijheel, Dhaka. Delicately enclosed in a lush garden terminated by a ghat, this white walled palace from another era embodies the contradictions of today’s Dhaka. The perimeter of its domain has been considerably reduced in the past decade, and it is surrounded by concrete buildings erected under cheap development project. A visual oxymoron, the site reminds the viewer of the constant threat posed by rapid urbanization to heritage sites in Dhaka.

The twenty or so artists behind “Urban Hours” represent a generation of Bangladeshis who were born en masse in cities. There is no remote village for them to take quarters when gargantuan Dhaka becomes too stressful; no regional particularism to take pride in and to help them shape their identity. They are city-kids, another number in the bunch, with the same hopes and fears as their peers. The “urban” they refer to is the great equalizer, an anonymous space where everyone is welcome and undesirable at once. Their city is a place of alienation: the daily war of egos creates a crushing chaos, and fairytale palaces are indeed left to greedy developers. But it is also a site of emancipation, where the laws of religion and the fathers’ customs slowly vanish. Shaping a new sense of collective destiny becomes the task of these newly emancipated individuals.

The videos, site-specific installations or performances proposed by “Urban Hours” all revolve around the same analysis: urban “development” – a term itself charged with contradiction – has gone out of control. The artists propose different approaches on the subject, and their views might sometimes differ. But in the end, they shout the same pressing question. How shall we reclaim the city?

“Urban Hour” will be presented to the public on 3rd December from 12.00 am onwards. The participating artists are:

Abdul Guffar Babu – Worked on ecosystem in the city
Arpita Singha – drew on paper cup and installed them in the stairs,
Ashim Halder Sagor – installed hundreds of cigarette and light them to smoke,
Chhobi Zulfiqure – installed a rocking chair in front of the palace and invited audience to watch the beauty of the palace after sitting on the chair.
Effat Rejowana Riya – performed at front-side pond
Emran Sohel – wore a spiked mask and offered roses during his performance
Jewel A Rob – Gathered posters, and flyers which represent all the urban requirements through advertisement.
Juton Chandra Roy
Kekahsha Sabah 
Mahadi Masud 
Manik Bonik 
Mehedi Hasan 
Roosevelt Benjamin D’ Rozario
Samir Ahmed Himel – installed modern buildings as pigeon nest.
Sanjid Mahmud – showed the way to built something, by collecting sandals from local people. He used pitch on them.
Shakti Nomaan 
Shubho Saha – installed a mirror in front of the old palace, where anyone can see the reflection of that palace. But also the visitors saw our urban raised society at the same frame, in the same time. 2 different times will visible in the same vision.
Syed Tarek Rahman 
Tahmina Hafiz Lisa – installed A/C in the old palace, which is the presentation of urbanisation.