Dhaka, May 3 — The art exhibit named “Ikrimikri: A Universe of Picture Books,” currently showing at La Galerie within the Alliance Francaise de Dhaka (AFD), has captivated young viewers.
The opening event took place on Friday, May 2.
Ikrimikri is an innovative platform aimed at fostering creativity and education via picture books. It places significant importance on regional languages, cultural stories, and narrative customs. The organization creates visually stunning books along with a monthly magazine that encapsulate the aspirations, everyday experiences, and explorations of Bangladeshi children.
This project has evolved into a dynamic platform for visual narrative, learning, and children’s self-expression.
The exhibition displays illustrations from every picture book published by Ikrimikri, encouraging guests to delve into the creative process behind each publication. In conjunction with this display, a range of interactive events will take place from May 3 through May 7.
This encompasses daily sessions for telling and listening to stories, engaging dialogues with artists and publishers, children sharing their original tales, along with a workshop focused on visual narrative techniques.
The schedule includes a typography workshop designed for older students, an interactive book-making session aimed at Grades 5 through 10, and concludes with a dramatic performance called “Fangsang,” performed by kids from the BotTola theater troupe on May 7th.
The initial session on Saturday took place between 5 and 6 PM and revolved around a storytelling and story-listening activity. During this time, kids had the opportunity to read out loud excerpts from Ikrimikri publications, while attendees were invited to contribute their personal narratives as well. Following this, from 6 to 7:30 PM, participants engaged in an interactive dialogue involving various creatives such as artists, authors, and publishing professionals.
On Sunday, May 4th, the day will commence with an additional storytelling and story-listening session between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Following this, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, children and young adults fond of creative writing can share their compositions during a workshop led by Shanu and Farzana Apu. Their literary pieces will be featured within the ongoing exhibit as well.
Moreover, a dedicated visual storytelling workshop named “From Words to Images” will take place from 4 to 8 pm in Room Number 12, led by Sabyasachi Mistry. Participation in this workshop necessitates advance sign-up.