Samdani Art Foundation

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SAF is a private arts trust based in Dhaka, Bangladesh which support the work of the country’s contemporary artists and architects, increasing their international exposure, and expands the audience engaging with contemporary art across Bangladesh.

17/09/2026

Now published on e-flux

Exhibiting at the Kunsthalle Basel on November 28, the upcoming exhibition titled, “Far Reach” unites eight Samdani Art Award finalists from Bangladesh with sixteen artists from the Basel Regionale. We express our warmest congratulations to the selected finalists. It is an honor to foster this cross-cultural dialogue, celebrating contemporary practices that beautifully transcend geographical boundaries.

The exhibition is jointly curated by Founding Artistic Director of Samdani Art Foundation, and .rtf Mohamed Almusibli, Director and Chief Curator of Kunsthalle Basel, with .kvs Yana Kadykova, Curatorial Assistant, Kunsthalle Basel; Ruxmini Reckvana Q Choudhury Ruxmini Reckvana Q Choudhury, Curator, Samdani Art Foundation; and Swilin Haque Swilin Haque, Curatorial Assistant, Samdani Art Foundation.

30/08/2026

Happy Birthday to our DAS 2023 artist, Antony Gormley.

For the sixth edition of the Dhaka Art Summit, Antony Gormley collaborated with a team of Bangladeshi artisans to create TURN, a 2.5 km line of bamboo commissioned by the Samdani Art Foundation.

Sharing some glimpses from the making of TURN and wishing Antony Gormley a very happy birthday!

TURN, 2022–2023
A 2.5 km line of bamboo
Commissioned by the Samdani Art Foundation
Courtesy of the artist and Xavier Hufkens

26/08/2026

The SAF team had a wonderful time meeting the minds behind the Srihatta pavilion — Bangladeshi architect Hassan, emerging architecture students, and local artisans Soiful and Selina. Built through thoughtful collaboration, the pavilion creates a welcoming space for the community to come together for workshops, performances, music sessions and other programmes.

Photo Credit: K M Asad

21/08/2026

Mohamed Almusibli .rtf Director and Chief Curator of Kunsthalle Basel recently visited the Samdani Art Foundation, joining Diana Campbell Artistic Director and Chief Curator, SAF, to select the finalists for the Samdani Art Award 2026. This year’s award exhibition will take place at Kunsthalle Basel alongside Regionale 27.

Mohammed also had a moment to speak with Rizvi Hassan, artichect of the pavilion in Srihatta, along with the architecture students and artisans.

This is presented through a collaboration between Kunsthalle Basel, Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, and Samdani Art Foundation.

Photo Credit: K M Asad.

15/08/2026

Now featured in the Backyard Biennial at Whitechapel Gallery, London, Shabnam (2022) is a short film and installation by Tondra artist, Sattar.

The film traces the fragmented history of muslin through archival traces from around the world, revealing a hidden common thread connecting its histories, places, and people.

Samdani Art Foundation is a supporter of the production of Shabnam.

Photo Credits 1 and 4: Backyard Biennial: East, Whitechapel Gallery, 15 July - 8 September. Photograph by: Damian Griffiths
Photos 2, 3: Rajeeb Samdani

10/08/2026

To honor the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we are highlighting several artworks of Joydeb Roaja, an artist from the Tripura community, one of the eleven indigenous communities of the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

Through drawing and performance, Roaja draws directly from his roots, often expressing themes of identity, childhood memory, scars of militarization and colonialism and their symbiotic relationship with nature — fundamentally portraying the power of indigeniety.

We are happy to see a longtime collaborator of the Dhaka Art Summit, Joydeb Roaja, establishing a strong international presence, whose works are seen in the collection of MoMA, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, and Tate.

Joydeb Roaja, Submerged Dream 8 (জলমগ্ন স্বপ্ন ৮), 2022-2023, Ink on Paper and board, Commissioned by Samdani Art Foundation for DAS 2023, Courtesy of the artist and Jhaveri Contemporary, Photo by Farhad Rahman.

Title : Submersible dream 1 ,
Submersible dream 2
Year: 2022
Media: pen on paper
Courtesy of the Artist

05/08/2026

Inspired by Bangladeshi market architecture, RASAD is a powerful installation by Britto Arts Trust exploring the intersections of food politics, culture, and displacement in Bangladesh and beyond. Britto Arts Trust first showcased their project at Germany’s documenta fifteen in 2022. Since then, the work has entered several museum collections around the globe, including Tate Modern, where the work recently went on view in London.

Congratulations, Britto Arts Trust and all of the collaborating artists and architects who are part of this work.

Object Artists
AKM Maynul Islam, Alok Raj Bongshi, MD. Aminul Islam, Ashim Halder Sagor, Farhana Ferdausi, Imran Hossain Piplu, Mahbubur Rahman, Shimul Saha, Shimul Datta, S.M.Saha, Anisuzzaman Faroque, Tayeba Begum Lipi

Design Team of the Local Bazaar
Kazi Sydul Karim, Architect; Mahbubur Rahman, Artist

29/07/2026

Revisiting our archives with the late Bashirul Haq, one of Bangladesh’s architectural visionaries.

From his humble beginnings in Bhatshala to studying at Lahore’s National College of Arts and the University of New Mexico, architect Bashirul Haq spent his life searching for a modern architectural idiom rooted deeply in the soil of Bangladesh. Once he graduated in 1964, he began his professional life in Dhaka in the 60s, and had the opportunity to work in Mazharul Islam’s practice. His journey eventually led him to the US before making his return to Dhaka in 1977 to establish Bashirul Haq and Associates, where he dedicated over four decades to shaping contemporary Bangladeshi architecture.

Bashirul Haq leaves behind a body of work that remains as relevant and powerful today as ever.

25/07/2026

We extend our warmest congratulations to Md Fazla Rabbi Fatiq Md Fazla Rabbi Fatiq, recipient of the Samdani Art Award 2023, on the presentation of his latest work in Global Positioning System. This ambitious, two-chapter group exhibition is currently on view across Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai (9 May – 4 October 2026) and Hayy Jameel, Jeddah (20 May – 17 October 2026). Our sincere commendations also go to the curators of this exhibtion—Indranjan Banerjee and Lucas Morin, who also serve as curators at Tondra.

Bringing together more than 40 artists from over 20 countries, the exhibition examines topographies, transit lines, and simulated landscapes to engage critically with the infrastructure of movement and navigation. Through photography, Md Fazla Rabbi Fatiq documents sluice gates across Bangladesh that have collapsed under decades of neglect, corruption and mismanaged development.

24/07/2026

Samdani Art Foundation congratulates Jessica Morgan on her appointment as Director of Tate.

From the very beginning of the Samdani Art Foundation and the Dhaka Art Summit, Jessica has been one of our earliest supporters and champions. Her generosity, curiosity and commitment to artists have meant so much to our journey.

We are grateful for Jessica's belief in our vision and for helping create space for voices from Bangladesh and beyond. We are so excited to see Jessica lead Tate into this new chapter and look forward to the impact of her thoughtful, artist-centred vision.

Congratulations from all of us at Samdani Art Foundation.

Images: Jessica Morgan speaking at the Dhaka Art Summit 2014. Photo courtesy of the Samdani Art Foundation.

Address

Shanta Western Tower
Dhaka
1208

Telephone

88028878784

Website

http://www.samdani.com.bd/, https://www.samdani.com.bd/artward2026

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