“Where the Spirit Meets the Bone” will be organized in Dhaka as Part of British Council’s Art Exchange Programme

Exhibition will be open to all from 25 April to 16 May
সৈয়দ মিজান, বজ্রকণ্ঠ:::

[Dhaka, 22 April 2025] An international group exhibition titled “Where the Spirit Meets the Bone,” will be open to all at Satori Academy of Arts, Banani, Dhaka from 4.30 p.m., 25 April until 16 May, (11 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Curated by Kehkasha Sabah, this exhibition is supported by the British Council through “Art Exchange: Moving Image”, a cross-cultural curatorial professional development and exhibition programme for early to mid-career visual arts curators from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. For further details about the exhibition, please visit https://kehkasha.name/index.php

The first chapter of the exhibition (25 April to 07 May 2025) which will be inaugurated by eminent artists Dhali Al Mamoon and Dilara Begum Jolly, Bangladesh, and Stephen Forbes, Country Director Bangladesh, British Council, explores sensory ecologies through social, emotional, and cultural fractures, such as erasure, trauma, and loss, and emphasises care as a healing process. It features work by seven Bangladeshi artists, and four international artists, including loans of art from the British Council Collection, and features four art students from Bangladesh.

Artists: Naeem Mohaiemen (Bangladesh), Reetu Sattar (Bangladesh), Sharad Das (Bangladesh), Shohrab Jahan (Bangladesh), Yasmin Jahan Nupur (Bangladesh) Zihan Karim (Bangladesh) and Sounak Das (Bangladesh/The Netherlands), Afrah Shafiq (India), *Ceal Floyer (UK), *Hetain Patel (UK), Hong-Kai Wang (Taiwan, *Susan Philipsz (UK), *Loaned from the British Council Collection.

The second chapter (9 May to 16 May 2025) will present the outcomes of experimental workshops conducted by artist-educators Shohrab Jahan (Bangladesh) and Zihan Karim (Bangladesh). Focusing on moving images in pedagogy and practice, it will include a constellation of moving images, sound installation, and interactive works.

Workshop participants: Abid Hassan (Bangladesh), Arshadul Hoque (Bangladesh), Naznin Ahmed (Bangladesh), and Sadia Afroz (Bangladesh).

“Where The Spirit Meets the Bone is a speculative project, evoking our somatic senses and their profound relation with care, necessary in the often-indescribable human terrain where vulnerability converges. The title also comes from Miller Williams’ poem ‘Compassion’, a reminder to see human frailty with empathy,” writes curator Kehkasha Sabah.

To mark the exhibition’s inauguration, Stephen Forbes, Country Director Bangladesh, British Council, mentioned, “The British Council is committed to assisting talented artists through various UK-Bangladesh initiatives. We are delighted to be supporting Kehkasha Sabah, and her exhibition through ‘Art Exchange: Moving Image’. This immersive and thought-provoking exhibition, organised as part of a curatorial fellowship, not only showcases Kehkasha Sabah’s artistic dedication to societal themes but also enriches the cultural tapestry shared between the UK and Bangladesh. I warmly invite not only art enthusiasts but everyone to experience this remarkable exhibition”.

**Photo credit: ©Hetain Patel. Photo ©British Council Collection