Faculty and alumni of UMISAA (UNESCO Madanjeet Institute of South Asian Art), Beaconhouse National University hogged the limelight at the recently concluded Dhaka Art Summit, held at Dhaka, Bangladesh from February 5 to 8, 2016. Director UMISAA Mrs. Salima Hashmi, SVAD alumni Ayesha Sultana, Shimul Saha and BNU graduates from Bhutan participated in the third edition of the event.

Mrs. Hashmi moderated a discussion on the topic, “Cross-Border Art Histories – Bangladesh and Pakistan” in which she discussed the porous role of education and exchange across the two countries with Bangladeshi art patron Farooq Sobhan, art historian Iftikhar Dadi, and visual artists Ayesha Sultana and Shimul Saha. Interestingly, both Ayesha and Shimul are BNU graduates and UMISAA scholars. Ayesha Sultana was the recipient of Samdani Art Award in 2014 while Shimul Saha was nominated for the same award this year. Ayesha Sultana also exhibited a solo project this year at the Dhaka Art Summit which is an honor for such a young artist.

Art schools are not usually featured prominently at art events but SVAD attracted significant interest among the participants of Dhaka Art Summit. During session with Mrs. Salima Hashmi, Mr. Farooq Sobhan highlighted the UMISAA scholarships at BNU and how it successfully brings together students from all over South Asia to Lahore. Ayesha and Shimul also spoke highly about their time in Lahore, specifically their experience at SVAD and how BNU contributed in their professional development. Moreover, 3 of the SVAD graduates from Bhutan conducted a children's workshop at the Summit under the banner of the Art Organization VAST.

Organized by Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka Art Summit is the biggest internationally recognized cultural event from Bangladesh that brings together over 600 international artists, curators, writers, and art historians from around the world. Faculty and graduates of Mariam Dawood School of Visual Arts and Design (SVAD) has always attracted attention at the event including Dean Mr. Rashid Rana who developed a solo project for its 2014 edition and Risham Syed who had a solo exhibition in the same year.