“Gangaburi- the river heritage project” coming to an end: Exhibition and book launch to mark its culmination

Syed MIZAN:::

[Dhaka, 17 April, 2025] The British Council and the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh have partnered with the Brihatta Art Foundation to celebrate the completion of the two-year journey of the ‘Gangaburi’ project. Gangaburi is a river heritage-focused art project that exhibits the rich heritage of the Buriganga river through contemporary artistic expressions. The culmination of the project will be celebrated through a book launch ceremony at the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh on April 24 and an exhibition at Brihatta Art Space, Hazaribagh, from April 25 to May 2, 2025, 2 to 6.30 p.m.
Hosted by the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh on Thursday, April 24, 2025, the event will launch an Art based research book, titled ‘Gangaburi’. The book is an ongoing conversation that connects people to communities working, living, and experiencing along the Buriganga river, which flows down the rapidly developing banks of Old Dhaka. Following the book launch, the culminating exhibition of this project will be held on Friday, April 25, 2025, at the Brihatta Art Foundation, Hazaribagh. This open-for-all exhibition is a unique mark of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) Bangladesh’s efforts to highlight the role of rivers in shaping Bangladesh’s culture and identity.
While the art-based research book ‘Gangaburi’ funded by Goethe-Institut Bangladesh presents a published archival of EUNIC Bangladesh’s work in the river heritage sector of Bangladesh, the culminating exhibition titled ‘Paal: Moving through Memories, Myths, and Motion’ funded by the British Council, provides a visual depiction of Gangaburi’s journey by showcasing the project’s artistic journey and impact from both phases in 2023 and 2024, offering visitors an immersive experience of the creative process behind the initiative.
The ‘Gangaburi River Heritage Project’ was launched in 2023 by the Brihatta Art Foundation, with support from the EUNIC Bangladesh cluster members- British Council, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, Alliance Française de Dhaka, the EU Delegation in Bangladesh, the Embassy of Italy in Bangladesh, and the Embassy of Spain in Bangladesh. The second phase was initiated in 2024, funded solely by the British Council.
Artists of the project include Ahmed Rasel, Aminul Islam Ashik, Anannya Mehpar Azad, Kazi Sydul Karim Tuso, Md. Khairul Alam (Shada), Nur A Alaa Siddique, and Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury. They all participated in Gangaburi Phase 1 in 2023. In Gangaburi Phase 2, the selected artists were Dinar Sultana Putul, Mojahid Musa, Bilas Mandal, Elodie Guignard, Moinuddin Moni, and Rupakalpa Chowdhury. The project also included performance artists- Farah Naz Moon, Yasmin Jahan Nupur, Joydeb Roaja, and urban traditional artists- Mohammad Hanif Pappu and Syed Ahmed Hossain, who supported the entire cohort in their artistic exploration for the project.
Titled after the song ‘Gangaburi’ by Kafil Ahmed, the project is curated and directed by Shehzad Shahriar Chowdhury and Bishwajit Goswami.