In a New Light
Gidree Bawlee
In A New Light is an international online performance project, a collaboration between artists and children in Scotland, Bangladesh and Singapore. Young people from each country worked together with a team of artists to explore the collective voice of children and young people in relation to the current ecological crisis.
Young people from Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts (Balia, Bangladesh), St Ninian's R.C. Primary School (Edinburgh, Scotland) and Beyond Social Services (Singapore) met online between September to May 2021 and engaged in a variety of tasks that encouraged creativity, reflection and collaboration. This project culminated in the creation of a performance film using original text, movement and song, with young people and artists working collaboratively across the three countries.
The film was produced by Gudrun Soley Sigurdardottir (Lead Artist - Scotland and Film Director), Renee Chua (Lead Artist – Singapore) and Kamruzzaman Shadhin (Lead Artist - Bangladesh), with filming by Conor Reilly (Scotland), Wan Man and Ler Jiyuan (Singapore) and Salma Jamal Moushum (Bangladesh).
Editing by Conor Reilly (Scotland)
Sound Design by Gudrun Soley Sigurdardottir (Scotland).
Text by children in all three countries.
In A New Light is a partnership between The Artground (Singapore), Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts (Bangladesh) and Imaginate (Scotland). The project has been developed as part of the Singapore International Foundation’s Arts for Good Projects.
Gidree Bawlee (Santal, meaning ‘children’s babbling’) is a multidisciplinary platform which facilitates cultural and artistic exchange through organizing various creative programs by initiating collaborations between artists and the rural and indigenous communities in the village of Balia in Thakurgaon, Bangladesh. Through its social practice and community focused activities, the organization aims to make art that responds to the local history, culture and the environment.
This ground breaking unit is the brainchild of artistic producer Salma Jamal Moushum and multi-disciplinary artist Kamruzzaman Shadhin.
Mousham develops and directs projects at Gidree Bawlee. Her research interests revolve around the concepts of participatory art, art in public sphere, social practice and community art.
Kamruzzaman Shadhin is a visual artist born and based in Bangladesh working in the mediums of installation, video and performance art. His research mostly explores social, political and environmental issues and their overlapping relationships. His projects are often created through public participation and are exhibited in public spaces where the audiences are general public and surrounding communities. He is the founder of Gidree Bawlee. Shadhin is also a founder member of Chhobir Haat – an alternative open space for art and artists which has played an important role in the ongoing public art movement in Dhaka since 2005.
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