Art Against Oppression

Join us on November 26th at 7 PM as Taishi and Friends take the stage at Worldview!
AAO proudly presents ULGULAN — an anti-imperialist, anti-fascist cultural festival celebrating resistance, solidarity, and creative expression.

ULGULAN'25
Event schedule
Come one, come all!

"ও আলোর পথযাত্রী, এ যে রাত্রি এখানে থেমো না,
এ বালুর চরে আশার তরণী তোমার যেন বেঁধো না।
আমি শ্রান্ত যে, তবু হাল ধরো, আমি রিক্ত যে, সেই সান্তনা
তব ছিন্ন পালে জয়পতাকা তুলে সূর্যতোরণ দাও হানা॥"

As this year marks the birth centenary of the veteran song writer Salil Chowdhury. His songs have inspired us and continue to inspire the fight against injustice. His songs will remain as a voice of resistance.

Join us on the 27th of November at 4 p.m. as we pay tribute to Salil Chowdhury with a Chorus Performance, at AAO presents ULGULAN – anti-imperialist, anti-fascist cultural festival.

Pull up to AAO presents ULGULAN on November 27th at 5 PM and catch the rap cypher. We're bringing that raw hip hop energy to an anti-imperialist, anti-fascist cultural festival that's all about resistance through rhythm. Come through and vibe with us.

Globalization was a falsified dream, distributed through capitalist propaganda. It embodied a development that was solely concentrated to the ruling class and the common people were left in the dark.

This year marks the birth centenary of the veteran playwright Badal Sircar, a pioneer of third theatre and voice of resistance. Badal Sircar was one with the masses and so has his legacy remained.

Join us on the 27th of November, 7 PM, to watch the play "Gadhayan" by "Aynaa Natyagosthi" at AAO presents ULGULAN– an anti-imperialist, anti-fascist cultural festival.

“In a time when everything is being broken - institutions, trust, the future - our love felt like a secret rebellion. A small, fragile thing we built in the dark. They told us who to hate, and we loved. It was our quiet, stubborn refusal.”

At a time when student protests are continually facing brutal crackdowns across India, the art of masterfully woven documentation and storytelling makes one ponder over the balance of protest and art.

Join us on the 25th of November, 5 PM, as we explore this balance through Payel Kapadia's "A Night of Knowing Nothing" at AAO presents ULGULAN— an anti-imperialist, anti-fascist cultural festival.

"Art has to be beautiful, but before that, it has to be truthful."

This year marks the Birth Centenary(4th November) of Ritwik Ghatak. He said that filmmaking is a personal matter that starts from one's own vision, and avoiding the social responsibility of the artist is also a form of responsibility. Ritwik Ghatak's thoughts on film, politics and art were fundamentally politically conscious. He believed that politics and culture were inseparable from each other and his films were a powerful political medium to highlight the injustices of society and the pain of Partition. The main subject of his work was the tragedy caused by Partition, the daily struggles of displaced refugees and the common people. He saw art not just as an artistic medium, but as a way of expressing and protesting the plight and suffering of the people.

To discuss his work on the experience of partition and his emotional portrayal of people enduring displacement Art Against Oppression welcomes one and all to our Panel Discussion on " DISPLACEMENT AND MIGRATION THROUGH THE LENS OF RITWIK GHATAK", with the speakers : Anindya Sengupta, Debalina Majumdar, and Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, to be held during Ulgulan — an anti-fascist anti-imperialist cultural festival.

26th November, 3 pm
Anita Bannerjee Memorial Hall
Jadavpur University

"আহ্বান, শোন আহ্বান,
আসে মাঠ-ঘাট বন পেরিয়ে
দুস্তর বাধা প্রস্তর ঠেলে
বন্যার মত বেরিয়ে
যুগ সঞ্চিত সুপ্তি দিয়েছে সাড়া
হিমগিরি শুনল কি সূর্যের ইশারা
যাত্রা শুরু উচ্ছল চলে দূর্বার বেগে তটিনী,
উত্তাল তালে উদ্যাম নাচে মুক্ত স্রোত নটিনী
এ শুধু সত্য যে নব প্রাণে জেগেছে,
রণ সাজে সেজেছে, অধিকার অর্জনে।"

Call for Artists, Students' Performances & Volunteers:

Art Against Oppression calls all artists and performers to come and share the stage with us on Ulgulan. We also call everyone to come and work with us as volunteers. Embracing a diverse celebration of creativity, the anti-fascist and anti-imperialist cultural festival welcomes all performances and political artworks from Kolkata and beyond.

FOR ART EXHIBITION

1. Traditional art
2. Digital art
3. Photography
4. Zines and Booklets

FOR STUDENT PERFORMANCES

1. Song
2. Dance
3. Music
4. Open Mic

Scan the QR on the posters to register.

"এসেছে নতুন শিশু, তাকে ছেড়ে দিতে হবে স্থান;
জীর্ণ পৃথিবীতে ব্যর্থ, মৃত আর ধ্বংসস্তূপ-পিঠে
চলে যেতে হবে আমাদের।
চলে যাব- তবু আজ যতক্ষণ দেহে আছে প্রাণ
প্রাণপণে পৃথিবীর সরাব জঞ্জাল,
এ বিশ্বকে এ শিশুর বাসযোগ্য ক’রে যাব আমি
নবজাতকের কাছে এ আমার দৃঢ় অঙ্গীকার।"

Art Against Oppression presents ULGULAN —
An anti-imperialist, anti-fascist cultural festival,
on 26th and 27th November at Worldview and FETSU square, Jadavpur University.

আর্ট এগেইনস্ট অপ্রেশন এর উপস্থাপনা উলগুলান —
একটি সাম্রাজ্যবাদ বিরোধী, ফ্যাসিবাদ বিরোধী সাংস্কৃতিক উৎসব।
২৬ এবং ২৭ নভেম্বর ওয়ার্ল্ডভিউ ও ফেটসু চত্বর, যাদবপুর বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়।

#উলগুলান

AAO presents ULGULAN -
An anti-fascist, anti-imperialist cultural festival.
Coming soon, stay tuned!