Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), country's leading national organization nurturing arts and culture from home and beyond, is known for always being packed with exciting events along with the presence of excited audiences throughout its entirety - ever since it was founded. Just like all other major arenas around the world in these unprecedented times of COVID-19 outbreak, BSA also had to be restricted for its performers and enthusiast audiences until further notice to avoid the risk of spreading the Coronavirus. That being said, the organization geared up with exciting contents at their Facebook page as part of accepting the 'new normalcy' in the realm of live, online cultural shows everyday under the 'Art Against Corona' title - where audiences can enjoy enthralling cultural performances from their favourite artists from home and beyond.

Started from June 21 marking the occasion of 'World Music Day', the event has continuously been featuring eminent and popular artists every day at 5 pm on BSA's official Facebook page. Till date, celebrated artists including actor and recitation artist Jayanta Chattopadhyay, singers such as Syed Abdul Hadi, Tapan Chowdhury, Bulbul Mahalanobish, Kiron Chandra Roy, Bappa Mazumdar, Agoon, Mehreen, Dr Nashid Kamal, Fatema Tuz Zohra, Fahmida Nabi, S I Tutul, Pinto Ghosh; globally celebrated singers such as Haimanti Sukla, Mitali Mukherjee from India and Tara Maalouf from Lebanon; celebrated reality-show talents including Beauty, Salma, Rajib, Ronti Das, Imran, Porshi, Pulok, Mehrab, Rafat and more - along with noted musicians, rural folk and Baul artists, child performers and celebrity anchors have participated in this enthralling live cultural event.

"In these unusual and difficult times, we all have been suffering from the socio-economical havoc the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to us. As a nation, culture has always been our strength - and we must continue our passion to remain hopeful, to remain happy. This virus will eventually disappear, but till then we need to remain strong. This special event is part of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy's virtual streaming of cultural programmes to honour and provide a platform to all our talented artists, and connect them with the audience in this challenging period," BSA Director-General Liaquat Ali Lucky spoke about the initiative.

"As all of our regular, exciting cultural events with our enthusiast crowd is unthinkable at these moments - BSA has taken the initiative to showcase our immensely talented artists and performers through our 'Art Against Corona' virtual sessions, transcending the border between the artists and our audiences from home and beyond. Thousands of fans are regularly joining with us over the livestream and they expressed satisfaction regarding the venture through their virtual presence. As a committed national organization, we are also ensuring proper honorarium to the participating artists as they are dedicating their precious time and talent to our initiative", Hasan Mahmud, BSA Public Relation Officer and Co-ordinator of 'Art Against Corona' told Dhaka Courier.

Interested audiences can visit BSA's Facebook page for past, present and future events in this series.