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CRAC International Art Camp in Kushtia
The recent art camp organized by Centre for Research on Art and Culture (CRAC) saw a definite boost in enthusiasm among the participants and the locals alike. With the Village Rahimpur of Kushtia as the setting for the 3rd consecutive year, the 'CRAC Art Camp 2009' saw some inspiring methods applied, and symbols constructed.
The initiative was started in 2007 when artist and writer Shawon Akand, with the help of his associate Delowar Hossain from the district of Kushtia, organized activists from divergent fields to take part in a collective creative-spree outside the confine of the urban social relations and the arts that proliferate within that boundary.
The exponents behind this endeavour were looking to provide the participants with opportunities to mingle with one another and be inspired to address the pressing issues of the present through creative actions. This is the first time CRAC, an organization set to chart the terrain of traditional arts and culture, took over the management and renamed it 'CRAC International Art Camp.'
Conceived as a multi-disciplinary art camp, it was a way for the organizers to reinforce the principle of collectivized, localized form of artistic production. Therefore, not only visual artists but also theatre activists, photographers, film makers, psychologists, poets, writers, journalists, actors and people from many other disciplines were invited to join this art camp.
This time around, there were three oversees guests who easily became part of the environmentally-inclined group. They were Andrew James Eagle from Australia, Manas Acharya and Tapati Chowdhury from neighbouring India.