BM Report: Adeena Hasan is a second-year student at Dhaka University. She studies in the Public Administration department. Recently, she made history. She became the first Bangladeshi artist to win two top awards at a prestigious art competition in Russia.
Her digital artworks secured first place in two separate categories. The event was the “Light of Asia” exhibition. It was organized by the Eurasian Art Union. The show took place at Moscow’s famous Gogolevsky Boulevard this May. The competition was massive. It featured over 200 participants from various regions across the globe. An expert jury panel from Asian countries judged the entries.
Adeena’s first winning piece is titled Hues of Culture. This artwork took the top prize in the “Future Heritage” category. The painting uses a very unique combination of warm and cool color palettes. She used these colors to showcase the differences between Russian and Bangladeshi cultures. At the same time, it shows their surprising similarities.
Her second piece is called Shades of Our Continent. It won first place in the “Digital Silk Road” category. In this piece, she used smooth color transitions and vibrant neon hues. The artwork beautifully reflects how diverse Asian cultures flow into one another. Ultimately, it shows that all these cultures strive for the exact same thing, which is sustainable peace.
“My color schemes take a lot of inspiration from retro Russian pop music as well as Bangladesh’s own culture,” Adeena said. She was explaining her artistic choices.
Interestingly, Adeena discovered the competition completely by accident. She had originally created these digital paintings for a different international contest in Russia. However, she soon realized a problem. She exceeded the age limit for that specific event. But she refused to give up. Instead, she searched for other creative opportunities in the country and found this one.
Navigating the application process was not easy. It proved to be a unique challenge due to language barriers. Adeena recalls having to rely heavily on Google Translate. She even joked about the situation. She said she had to wrestle international bureaucracy with the help of translation apps. Fortunately, the Russian organizers were highly accommodating. They helped her a lot once they realized she was a foreign participant.
The organizers sent her an official invitation letter to travel to Moscow for the award ceremony. However, she could not attend the physical event. Consequently, the organizers sent her the official certificates digitally. Her achievements and artworks are already published. They are on the Russian social media platform VKontakte. They will also be featured in the Eurasian Art Union’s official print catalogue. This catalogue is currently on its way to her from Moscow.
Back home, the Russian House in Bangladesh noticed her success. They extended their heartfelt congratulations to Adeena upon her selection. The Russian Embassy in Bangladesh has also been informed of her historic achievement very recently.
Adeena balances her academic life with a professional role. Aside from her university studies, she works as an artist at Ogopogo Animation Studios. As part of her job, she recently contributed to a major project. She helped build a diorama exhibit at the July Uprising Memorial Museum.
Looking ahead, Adeena wishes to stay connected to her creative roots. She aims to continue painting the world and its people. She wants to keep doing this through her own whimsical perspective.
She also shared a piece of advice for aspiring creatives. This is especially for those who might not have the chance to study art academically. Adeena emphasized the true value of practical work. “Your portfolio and how you build it matter much more than you probably realize,” she said. She also highlighted the importance of resilience. She added that it helps immensely if you can get back up whenever life throws you down.