Shezad Dawood: Concert From Bangladesh (Indoor Screening)

Concert from Bangladesh is a mixed reality music concert, using cutting edge technology to take audiences on a virtual audio-visual journey through Bangladesh past and present, encompassing mystical Baul singers from rural Kushtia, experimental electronics and hip hop from the streets of Dhaka. Produced by London-based artist Shezad Dawood and forming part of our Summer 2021 programme, the film will be followed by a live Q&A between Shezad Dawood, local artist Thahmina Begum and YSI’s Jane Bhoyroo.

In Concert from Bangladesh, Dawood has created a virtual stage for a concert expanding on Ravi Shankar and George Harrison’s 1971 ‘Concert for Bangladesh’ which was in aid of the relief effort and refugee crisis. The project updates the original concert’s concept, where Shankar and other South Asian performers were relegated to support acts. Instead, Dawood has collaborated with Bangladeshi music producers, musicians and performers to develop Concert From Bangladesh, which will showcase talent across varied Bangladeshi musical traditions, from mystical Baul singing to experimental electronica and Dhaka hip hop.

The video artwork for this event will be amplified by Augmented Reality assets, including a free filter activated through the camera on a smart phone bringing 3D objects from the screen into viewers’ immediate surroundings. To experience this element, you are welcome to use your own smart phone, and access this Augmented Reality by scanning a code which will appear during the screening.

Concert From Bangladesh is a project by UBIK Productions and Samdani Art Foundation in collaboration with Shezad Dawood and in partnership with Yorkshire Sculpture International and Chisenhale Gallery. It is supported by the British Council Digital Collaboration Fund, which supports UK and overseas cultural partnerships to develop digitally innovative ways of collaborating.

Doors open 7pm. Film begins at 7.30pm, followed by a Q&A with Shezad Dawood, Thamina Begum and Jane Bhoyroo.