Alchemy Festival is Southbank Centre’s annual festival showcasing the best of dance, music, theatre, design, fashion, comedy and literature from the UK and South Asia. This year it took place from 15-25 May 2015 at London.
Throughout the 11-day festival there were free workshops, must-see performances, stunning, thought-provoking exhibitions and a delicious Eastern inspired food market, as KERB does Alchemy. It’s the sixth year of Alchemy Festival. The British Council Bangladesh in partnership with Southbank Centre has brought together an interactive installation showcasing new work by graphic novelists from the UK and Bangladesh.
The installation was placed at Level 2 Foyers (Green Side) at Royal Festival Hall, a very busy walkway with many Londoners and tourists passing by everyday allowing thousands of people to enjoy the beautiful installation every day.
Pother Golpo (পথের গল্প) recreated a typical Bangladeshi street scene, with 2D buildings, street furniture, cars, bikes and pedestrians on specially designed installation pieces. New commissions from a trio of leading graphic novelists invoke the richness, complexity and intensity of everyday life in Dhaka and other Bangladeshi cities.
Graphic novelist Karrie Fransman recently travelled to Bangladesh with the British Council, and Bangladeshi graphic novelists Syed Rashad Imam Tanmoy and Asifur Rahman had participated in reciprocal exchanges to the UK. The installation was inspired by the artists’ experiences of Bangladeshi cities – they even included themselves in the unfolding story.
The installation was accompanied by live events, artists’ talk and school workshops.