Importance of Education and Research in the field of Arts in Bangladesh

Shams Bin Quader
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The thought first occurred to me while I was brainstorming for ideas regarding my thesis topic. This was back in 2007, when I was doing my Masters from Kings College London's Cultural and Creative Industries department. There is much scope for in-depth research in the many diverse Bangaldeshi forms of Art. Many of these fields still lack a proper credible knowledge platform, and many of these art forms are dying due to negligence and lack of exposure. Back in 2007, I chose Music as my thesis topic, more specifically, the “Music Tastes of Bengalis in London: An artistic and historical perspective on the music and musical preferences of postcolonial migrant peoples.” This idea that numerous forms of Bangladeshi Art works are still not getting enough attention in the scholarly circles, made me realise that education and research are extremely important for the Arts, especially in Bangladesh.

Research, goes hand in hand with education. Without proper research, no new knowledge can be produced, and the epistemological development of society and civilisation would be impossible. While research is important in the fields of Science and Technology, it is also equally important in the field of Arts. The various forms of music, literature, theatre, painting, sculpturing, photography, film making etc. are all forms of human expression. Developing these forms and expressions are a part of ensuring the process of evolution and it also infinitely contributes to the development of human civilisation. This can therefore happen, through valid research of the Arts.

The US Department of education states that “similar to English, math, science and the other core subjects, the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) are challenging subjects with rigorous content and achievement standards at the state and national levels. They require highly qualified teachers who challenge all students, not just those who are considered artistically talented, to perform works of art, create their own works, and respond to works of art and the ideas they impart. In addition to studying the arts for their own sake, experiencing and making works of art benefits students in their intellectual, personal, and social development, and can be particularly beneficial for students from economically disadvantaged circumstances and those who are at risk of not succeeding in school. Research studies point to strong relationships between learning in the arts and fundamental cognitive skills and capacities used to master other core subjects, including reading, writing, and mathematics.” So, not only is education and research important in the field of arts, arts are also a very important segment of the education curriculum.

In Bangladesh, arts are part of the curriculum in many educational institutions. There are a number of schools which give some emphasis on the arts and extracurricular activities. This is a very good sign. In the tertiary academic institutions offering degrees on the different forms of art, the scenario is less optimistic. In my opinion, these universities, colleges and academic institutions teach and focus greatly on the procedures and methodologies of the arts. However, knowledge and analytical skills on the history, cultural perspective, theory and relation between theory and practice is lacking. An institution teaching the ability to perform an in-depth analysis of a Van Gogh masterpiece for example is rare. But many institutions probably teach the painting and colouring techniques made famous by Van Gogh.

Enough credible research is also not being done enough in the fields of music, literature and paintings in Bangladesh. There are a lot of talks, seminars and television shows about the arts, but substantial proper research is still lacking. This is one field where researchers interested in the Bangladeshi forms of arts could really contribute greatly.

The process of developing the art industry of a country is like a cycle where many elements have to work together in order to complete the circle. Let me use the example of Indonesia, where their art industry is one of the most thriving in the world today. For years, Indonesia has invested in the education and research of their arts. This, as a result, has created a generation of well educated artists as well as art academics focused on the theoretical and cultural perspectives of art. They have created governing bodies responsible for the preservation and maintenance of their heritage and traditional arts. They have invested on the promotion of their artist's works. For example, Indonesia has numerous high quality corporate sponsored Painting magazines. They have regular high profile exhibitions and seminars highlighting their local painter's works. Then they market these paintings properly, so that art enthusiasts from all over the globe are interested in Indonesian paintings. These paintings are then sold with millions of dollars, helping the painters, the artists and the Indonesian art industry as a whole. This industry, in turn, invests back the money on themselves, making the Indonesian art industry a very successful one. This thriving art industry, thus helps the development of Indonesia as a country and nation. I believe this example of Indonesia is relevant because Bangladesh could benefit from a similar strategy.

In conclusion, I want to state that Bangladesh is filled with creative and artistically talented people in Asia. But proper planning, emphasis and funding on the education, development and research of the local forms of arts are greatly lacking. The arts are one field which should get more focus, because this is one of the valuable resources of Bangladesh. There are many talented Bangladeshi painters, sculptors, digital artists, musicians, film makers, photographers, ad makers etc. who are not only famous locally, but have achieved major success, recognition and appreciation in all the cultural capitals of the world. So I can confidently say that emphasis on the education and research of various forms of Bangladeshi Arts is extremely important and the Bangladeshi Art Industry should be undoubtedly focused on and developed instead of being neglected.

(The writer is Senior Lecturer, Media Studies and Journalism Department, ULAB and vocalist of the alternative rock band Bohemian.)