Samdani Art Foundation, through Srihatta: the Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park, is pleased to announce its participation in Photosynthesis, a new international artist residency initiative supported by the Getty Foundation. Bringing together six leading arts organizations across four continents, the programme creates a new model for long-term artistic research in non-urban contexts.
Developed in collaboration with Denniston Hill (USA), LUMA Arles (France), Pivô (Brazil), Srihatta: the Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park (Bangladesh), Tate St Ives (United Kingdom), and The Mothership (Morocco), Photosynthesis reimagines the artist residency format by enabling artists to undertake an eighteen-month research journey across the six institutions. Through successive three-month residencies, artists are provided with the time, resources, and support to pursue sustained artistic and ecological research while engaging with diverse local communities and environments.
Supported by a transformative grant from the Getty Foundation, the inaugural Getty Global Art and Sustainability Fellows are Annalee Davis (Barbados), Himali Singh Soin (India), and Michael Wang (USA). Over the course of the programme, each fellow will undertake a sequence of research residencies across the partner institutions.
As the Bangladesh partner, Srihatta: the Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park will welcome Himali Singh Soin for a three-month residency beginning in December 2026. During her time at Srihatta, she will undertake research informed by the ecological, cultural, and social landscapes of Sylhet, engaging with local knowledge systems and communities as part of the programme's commitment to long-term artistic inquiry and environmental exchange.
Founded by the Samdani Art Foundation, Srihatta provides artists with a rural setting for research, experimentation, and dialogue. Through its participation in Photosynthesis, Srihatta strengthens its commitment to supporting artists whose practices engage with ecology, place, and community while expanding opportunities for international collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Photosynthesis establishes a trans-local alliance dedicated to exploring ecological concerns through long-term artistic research. By connecting artists, institutions, and communities across four continents, the initiative demonstrates the importance of transnational solidarity in addressing the climate crisis. The programme offers invited artists an unprecedented opportunity to develop new bodies of research through an expansive residency model that values time, artistic autonomy, experimentation, and meaningful engagement with place.