Kalidas Karmakar, a painter and printmaker of international repute, on Saturday said Bangladesh needs a national gallery as well as art museums to preserve its artworks.

"Unlike many countries, Bangladesh still has no national gallery to display its artworks. No one is feeling its urgency...art museums should be established in Dhaka as well as other major cities," he said.

Kalidas Karmakar made the remarks while speaking at the fourth edition of Art-Echo, a monthly talk-show of Cosmos-Atelier 71 Printmaking Studio, titled 'Alluvial Soul and Beyond' at Cosmos Centre in the city's Malibagh.

The artist also thinks that youths should wage a movement to have such institutions established in the country. "Young artists will have a greater scope and a nationwide art movement can be launched if art museums are set up in major cities," he said.

He lamented that the country has an insignificant investment in the fine art sector, saying there must be a change. "The identity of a country lies in its arts, not the economy."

The Ekushey Padak-winning artist lauded the artworks of the country's young artists. "International standard works are being produced by Bangladesh's young artists. However, there's no promotion of those," he said.

While talking about the Performance Art, Kalidas described it as part of "our culture". "Performance Art didn't originate in the West; rather they took the concept from us. It's part of our lives."

He expressed his satisfaction that the Performance Art has become a popular form of art in the country.