Transcending the roadblocks in creativity through marching ahead with experimental and refreshing ideas, Brihatta Art Foundation started its journey to its temporary address through the inaugural exhibition ‘Mukti’ on the roof of Mukti Tannery-1, in the Hazaribagh Tannery area in the capital on Saturday.
Celebrating 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence, the inaugural exhibition `Mukti started welcoming the visitors to this unique, new art space from October 30, consisting of five artists from Bishwajit Goswami’s sculptural based curatorial project “Khujiya Dekho Tai” (Find…Create…Express…) and a special artistic venture titled “Aay Tobe Sohochori” (Let’s Play Together) by the children of Hazaribagh Local School, Nalonda High School and many other schools under the supervision of artist Tania Sultana and Yunnan Arts University, China lecturer artist Mon Mong Sho.
Prior to welcoming the general art admirers, Brihatta hosted a two-day launching event on October 28, Thursday, and October 29, Friday. The event was attended by the locals, other tannery owners, street children, workers, children and their guardians, and neighbors of ‘Brihatta’s new space and artists participating in the exhibition.
On Thursday, special guests including BGMEA Board of Directors member Rubana Haque, architect Saif UI Haque, thespian Tanveen Sweety, and Dhaka University Dean at the Faculty of Fine Art Professor Nisar Hossain visited the exhibition on Thursday. Leading Bangladeshi artists Farida Zaman, Mohammad Yunus, Tarun Ghosh, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, and renowned photojournalist Nasir Ali Mamun were present on Friday, alongside Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani, Co-Founders of Samdani Art Foundation, and Dato KM Rifatuzzaman, Editor of Showcase Magazine.
Known for its leather manufacturing and being one of the most polluted areas in Dhaka city, the abandoned tannery space was chosen by Brihatta Art Foundation which has renovated the place with the state-of-the-art design and a massive recycling process for four months, under the curation and supervision of renowned artist Bishwajit Goswami, founder of the Brihatta Art Foundation and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University.