AKA Dhaka celebrates the Big Draw Festival 

From 15-17 November, the Aga Khan Academy Dhaka participated in the Big Draw Festival by organising an art exhibition of Grade 7 students’ artwork, with this year’s theme for the festival being Come Back to Colour. The Big Draw Festival is a worldwide celebration of drawing. The festival comprises a collection of thousands of creative events, activities and workshops across the globe run by organisations big and small, from individuals to entire cities. AKA Dhaka is the only educational institution in Asia to be a part of the festival this year.

In addition to Grade 7 parents being invited to the exhibition, Ms Farida Zaman, honorary professor for the department of drawing and painting at the University of Dhaka, and Mr Syed Abul Barq Alvi, honorary professor for the department of printmaking and faculty of fine arts at the University of Dhaka, graced the event as special guests. The Aga Khan Development Network Resident Diplomatic Representative for Bangladesh H.E. Munir M Merali was also present at the event.  

The exhibition showcased an array of beautiful artworks by the Grade 7 students. Students took inspiration from renowned folk-art artists Abdus Shakoor of Bangladesh and Wassily Kandinsky of Russia.  

“This is a great initiative taken by the Academy to create strong roots of Bengali culture among the students,” Ms Farida said. “Every child is an artist, and it gives me immense pleasure to see such amazing works.” 

Mr Syed Abul Barq Alvi highlighted the power of expressing oneself through art and how it can create open-minded and confident individuals. 

“Art is a unique and creative way to express oneself,” Mr Alvi said. “Giving students the freedom to create art makes them open-minded, hones their creativity and builds their confidence.”  

Throughout the event, Grade 7 students accompanied the visitors and explained their artworks and the inspiration behind them.  

"It was fun to exchange ideas to create better artwork,” said Grade 7 student Mahad Khaled Uthshob.   

Visual arts teachers Ms Fahmida Khatun and Ms Lamia Khan expressed their admiration for the students’ works and their enthusiasm to make the event successful.  

“I feel blessed to be the visual arts teacher of such talented and dedicated kids,” Ms Fahmida said. “They showed great enthusiasm throughout the journey and produced some of the most remarkable works I have seen in a while.”