The Arts are fundamental elements of an open and healthy society.  Artistically thriving societies tend to be more democratic, more egalitarian, economically more robust and to have more fulfilled, healthier citizens. We bring to Bangladesh access to UK Arts and our international cultural links, and we learn new skills from, and build new relationships with, our partners in Bangladesh.

As the UK’s international cultural relations organisation, the British Council in Bangladesh runs an annual Arts programme which is increasing in scale and scope year on year. We look to build the capacity of the key creative industries and, through our global programme ‘New Connections,’ we explore the areas around ‘arts for development’. We also bring Bangladeshi arts to the UK as a means of educating the British people, changing perceptions and engaging Bangladeshi heritage communities there.

•‘Connections through Culture’. With its focus on visual arts, this programme aims to develop skills and knowledge exchange between cultural institutions in the UK and South Asia. We facilitate links and provide introductions to UK and Bangladeshi key  institutions and give the participants the opportunity to work with each other and develop sustainable connections.

•Fashion. In partnership with the Bangladesh National Museum we brought a Fashion Exhibition to Dhaka. We also arranged a seminar on fashion, a two-day fashion journalism workshop and a catwalk show by the Bangladeshi fashion designers. Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Hussein Chalayan, Ruby Ghuznavi, Monjulika Chakma and Emdad Haque were involved.

•Curators Exchange. Curators from eight galleries from Pakistan and Bangladesh and ten from across the UK are currently participating in mutual visits and exchanges of experiences, expertise and ideas.

•Music . We are arranging a Folk Music workshop ‘Folk Nations’ for British, Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani musicians. The result of the workshop will be presented at London South Bank’s.



HOWARD HODGKIN COMES TO DHAKA   

Hodgkin is widely regarded as one of the most significant artists at work in Britain today. Renowned for his mastery of colour, Hodgkin was awarded the Turner Prize in 1965, was knighted in 1992 and has been the subject of many major retrospective exhibitions around the world.

British Council Bangladesh is delighted to host this first show of twelve pieces of his work to come to Bangladesh. The exhibition will take place in Dhaka from 12 April to 5 May, at Bengal Art Lounge, 60 Gulshan Avenue, Dhaka-1212, everyday from 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm. This exhibition, drawn from the holdings of the British Council Collection in UK, presents an opportunity to experience key examples from Hodgkin's print oeuvre alongside the significant oil painting 'Still Life in a Restaurant' (1973). This exhibition also includes Hodgkin's very first professional print 'Enter Laughing' produced in 1964, when Hodgkin was one of 25 young artists invited to make screenprints with the master printer Chris Prater of Kelpra Studio, London. The painting and original prints on display are a chaos of abstract forms - splashes, blobs, dots, shapes and clashes of bright, bold colours which now merge, now separate, seemingly without logic or reason.

Hodgkin has been a frequent traveller to South Asia; he has an extensive collection of pictures painted on the Indian sub continent and he collaborated closely with the architect Charles Correa in the production of the magnificent mural for the front façade of the British Council's premises in India. Read more about Hodgkin's work and this collection on our India website: http://www.britishcouncil.in/whats-on/events/painterly-prints


Macbeth returns to Fuller Road after 30 years!

"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes"
- William Shakespeare

British Council in partnership with Padatik Nattaya Sangshad is staging the great tragedies with Shakespeare's most concentrated thriller, a profound examination of the psychology of guilt and the forces that influence human action... Macbeth. It's a great opportunity for you to be a part of the return of Macbeth in Bangladeshi Theatre.

Show details -
Date: 24 April 2013
Time: 7.00 PM

Venue: British Council Auditorium, 5 Fuller Road, Dhaka 1000.

Seats are very limited and will served as on a 1st come 1st serve basis. To bookyour seat, please email  BGL-Arts.Intern@bd.britishcouncil.org mentioning your mobile number.