Shawon Akand
Conference Report. November 2023
The 55th Annual Conference of CIMAM which was held at Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, Argentina from 9-11 November 2023, was a significant event in my life. The title/theme of the conference--The Co-Creative Museum: Social Agency, Ethics, and Heritage—was closely connected to my work and activities as well as my field of interest. The program schedule of the conference was largely divided into two sections/categories. Morning sessions were basically talk programs that were really brainstorming discussions, dialogue, and debates related to the main theme of the conference. Topics for morning seasons were: Day 1- How Can Museums Embrace their Social Responsibility? A Question from the Americas; Day 2- The Role of Museums in Communities, Education, and Accessibility; Day 3- How Can Museums Collect, Preserve, and Protect Cultural Heritage While Creating New Communities?
These morning sessions were really enjoyable and thought-provoking for any artists, researchers, or curators who are working with museums, cultural organizations, or social agencies and dealing with art and heritage issues. Personally, I would like to mention some names of speakers who have really impressed me with their original and unique thoughts and questions regarding the role of museums and cultural organizations. Such as Elvira Espejo Ayca (Bolivia), Pablo Lafuente (Brazil), Simon Njami (France), Luis Camnitzer (USA), Daina Leyton, (Brazil), Marie Hélène Pereira (Senegal/Germany), teresa cisneros (UK), Marian Pastor Roces ( Philippines), and Luma Hamdan (Jordan). We have had the opportunity to discuss formally and informally related topics and presentations in these morning programs. The issues that were discussed in these sessions were connected to the central theme of this conference and valuable for professionals who are dealing with a contemporary crisis of museum and art practices after the COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to thank Elvira, Pablo, Marie, and Diana for what they have done in their countries respectively, and shared their experiences, thoughts, and beliefs in their presentation, which was really helpful for us. Also, Simon, Marian, and Luis (and many more also) have shared their experience, knowledge, and wisdom with audiences which was really brain-awaking and fantastic!
The second part of the conference was scheduled for visit programs which gave us a unique opportunity to explore the Argentine Art Scene. It was my first trip to Latin America and these visit programs were really wonderful! We have visited many art galleries, museums, and private collections including artists-led initiatives and socially engaged art centers.
Personally, I found some artists-led initiatives to be really interesting and have some commitments about social engagements and developments. For example, I would like to mention Las Deudas, a small organization led by some young artists who are struggling for survival and trying to find a way out—how and why art is important in social and personal life? Also, I would like to mention Belleza y Felicidad Fiorito at Villa Fiorito who are really working wonderfully as a socially engaged art center.
My experience at the CIMAM Conference is remarkable for many reasons. I have been organizing an art camp and residency program in Bangladesh for International artists since 2007(CRACK International Art Camp) and trying to promote and preserve heritage products and create some bridge between traditional and contemporary arts, make a linkage between the modern market and grassroots artisans (Jothashilpa), this conference gave me the opportunity to explore Latin American Art and craft scene. I found many similarities and potentials for future collaborations with various likeminded organizations and artists around the world, especially from Latin America.
Also, I have been trying to create an archive which would be a peoples’ archive, specially focused on regional history and cultural materials in Kushtia since 2016 (Ashru Archive). This experience at the CIMAM Conference gave me some insight and inspiration to develop this archive more effectively and successfully.
As an artist, researcher, and curator, I believe that the experience of the CIMAM conference would have a deep impression on my mind and an in-depth impact on my future works and activities more efficiently.
Bio
Shawon Akand (b. 1976, Kushtia) is an artist, researcher and curator based in Dhaka. Having trained at the Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University, Akand is the co-founder and Director at Jothashilpa-a centre for traditional and contemporary arts. Jothashilpa has started its journey as an artist-led organization in 2016 with the aim to support, preserve and promote the art practices of Bangladesh with a sustainable approach towards community engagement. It has been a melting pot where various categories of arts (such as fine art, folk art, native art, crafts etc.) are being juxtaposed to create a new art language of our own. Since its inception, Jothashilpa has been working with artisans and traditional folk artists living in rural as well as urban areas. This includes women who are experts in hand embroidery, jamdani weavers, cinema banner painters and rickshaw artists. It serves as a place of exchange between traditional and contemporary academic artists.
In 2007 he co-founded the Crack International Art Camp (CIAC), an annual event inspired by Baul philosophy and running ever since. CIAC is a multi-disciplinary art camp arranged in Kushtia, Bangladesh. The art camp tries to blur the lines between creative disciplines and therefore engages people from various disciplines, including but not limited to theatre activists, photographers, film makers, musicians, poets, writers, journalists, historians, and art critics. It became a significant yearly festival in Kushtia where thousands of visitors used to visit this camp site every year. The venue of the art camp, a very ordinary fish seed firm, gradually became an attractive and live cultural hub for creative minds and baul practitioners.
Akand has also established a research and resource centre- Ashru Archive, a non-profitable organization based in Kushtia in 2016.
As an artist, Akand’s body of work questions cultural norms with a critical perspective on social and political structures through painting, printmaking, photography, Installation and video. His artworks have been showcased at home and abroad. His major shows/art projects include: What is Reality (Dhaka, 2007) The Paradox of the Partition (Delhi 2013), To See or Not to See (Dhaka 2016) and Slow Friend, Be Slow in Dhaka art Summit 2023.