Navigating Creative Freedom: Art, Action, Expression

Register for free (limited spots): https://shorturl.at/8mxbz
21st December, 2024
Time 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM (Gate opens 2:00 PM)
EMK Center

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government, Bangladesh has become a cradle of possibilities. Voices once suppressed by a heavy-handed administration are today free to speak out to their heart’s content. But how free is this newfound freedom of speech?

On one hand, the improvement is infinite. Almost overnight, we have gone from fearing for our lives over trivial social media posts to being encouraged to speak our minds. On the other, even after the fall of the tyrant, certain discourses remain rife with self-censorship. Every day, advocates of democratic values brace for new paranoias, as social fascists lurk outside to mark their territory in the middle of an acute power vacuum.

When it comes to freedom in creative pursuits, the rules of the game have irreversibly changed. But what are the new rules? Which obstacles are gone, and which fears remain? We will try to get answers from practicing artists who deal with these questions every day.

Is freedom of creativity limited to just free speech? No. It is also curtailed by unfair media/art/entertainment industry practices and the inexplicable power gap between artists and their patrons/clients.

Join us as we tackle these pressing concerns, and more, with a group of eclectic artists, all esteemed names in their lines of work:

Cartoonist Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy
Author & Activist Tuhin Khan
Theater Activist & Creative Producer Shanaj Parvin Jonaki
Architect & Musician Aia Lemonsky

Design by Saba Islam
A Karkhana Production
In collaboration with EMK Center