Part of the Samdani Art Foundation’s ongoing work is supporting research into pre-colonial knowledge of South Asia and blurring boundaries between art and life by empowering Bangladeshi artist led initiatives. Artists from around the world often take motifs from vernacular artistic practices, and through our initiatives, we partner with artists and artist led initiatives to support the practices of artists who often do not have the privileges of resources and mobility found in “the art world”, such as Cinema Banner painters, Rickshaw painters, weavers, and other talented artisans who create the vibrant visual culture of Bangladesh. Dhaka Art Summit is a platform which has realized Bangladesh’s largest cinema banner painting in collaboration with Jothashilpa, SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin, and the Goethe Institut, and kantha stitched renditions of Bangladesh’s six seasons realized in collaboration with Art Pro have recently been acquired by the Whitworth Museum in Manchester after their display at Dhaka Art Summit 2020. Protecting the heritage of Bangladeshi traditional arts also means supporting the people behind these arts in their daily lives, so they are able to continue their practice once the world heals from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Samdani Art Foundation is proud to have partnered with Britto Arts Trust to support 23 Rickshaw painters and Cinema Banner painters to produce each produce an artwork that highlights the unique talent of each maker, while also financially supporting this at-risk community in a time when there are few opportunities for them to continue their work animating public spaces of Dhaka. The artist community forming Britto Art Trust has been working with Rickshaw painters and Cinema Banner painters for a long time. They have exhibited the works of the painters in Paris at Palais de Tokyo, and at other leading institutional platforms in Bangladesh and abroad. Britto Arts Trust has generously lent their talent and infrastructure to help bring 23 artists into the fold of Britto and give them a platform to share their work with the world during this difficult time. The artists have painted on cut-outs representing parts of the human body, speaking to the fact that together, we are one collective body as residents and contributors to life in Dhaka.