For an event that has become synonymous with the rising Bangladeshi art scene, Dhaka Art Summit's opening ceremony was much more accessible than one might expect.
Held at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in the capital, the event was attended by huge crowds from all walks of life. As the general public mingled with art world savants, for a moment, time appeared to stand still — with two wildly different worlds colliding together in a spectacular embrace.
It is fitting then that the idea of binaries is first evoked in the name of the sixth summit itself Bonna — both a common word for "flood" in Bangladesh and a popular girls' name in the region's Bengali dialect.
"This dual meaning opens up different and more nuanced ways of thinking about what the climate means to the people of Bangladesh," says Nadia Samdani, who co-founded the summit along with Rajeeb Samdani in 2012.
Known for its rich network of river deltas, Bangladesh is home to the mighty Brahmaputra river and the Sundarbans mangrove area. But over the decades, it has witnessed some of the worst climate-related devastations — most recently, last year when more than 100 people were killed and millions displaced in floods. Several works on display at Bonna respond to these environmental challenges, aiming to reimagine a better future in their own distinctive ways.
The entrance to the venue is taken up by Miet Warlop's Chant for Hope, in which the Belgian visual artist encourages spectators to participate with performers, in a union she calls "ritual concert".
In the works, a group of performers flood moulds of plaster and sculpt words in Bengali, creating a sensation of a shape-shifting art that changes meaning with every new participant.
Inside the gallery space, a room is dedicated to Submerged Dream 8, installed by local artist Joydeb Roaja. As viewers walk in, they are drowned in a metaphorical lake. The work is inspired by the Kaptai Dam on the Karnaphuli river, which flooded about 655 square kilometres of land belonging to the indigenous Chakma people.
"Even the Chakma royal palace was submerged," says Roaja, whose interactive installation depicts people from the Chittagong Hill Tracts districts collectively raising the submerged palace back to the surface. "There's always hope after tragedy, isn't it?" he asks.
Elsewhere, Paradoxes of Plenty, the series of drawings by Marzia Migliora, who lives in Turin, Italy, explores the relationship between food production and exploitative forms of capitalism. Similarly, the Indian artist Rithika Merchant's surreal Transtidal, which consists of gouache, watercolour and ink on paper, highlights the water crisis by weaving in the myths associated with the river-based Bede community of Bangladesh.
"As much as the artworks are shining a light on some of the challenges around the climate, we also wanted the artists to probe our relationship with weather and water, and to tell their own stories around these ideas," explains Nadia.
Curated by Sean Anderson, the special exhibition To Enter the Sky is a collaboration by the Jaago Foundation, with 1,000 Bangladeshi children from some of the areas most affected by climate change contributing drawings of the spaces and buildings they imagine living in in the future. "The perspectives of young people recur throughout the summit," Nadia asserts.
One of this year's highlights is the summit's first collaboration with the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in India. Titled Very Small Feelings, it presents 42 projects, including a mix of new commissions, historical works, installations, performances, books and archives activated through the lens of cultural practices related to children.
It explores childhood as a transformative energy and a place that one can enter and exit at will — where the origin of the self begins and flows into the dynamics of family, community, world and selfhood.
"We stage this exhibition through known and forgotten stories, tales, popular characters and cartoons that many generations relate to and the imaginary figures that the invited artists conjure — in this peculiar way, the exhibition is seeking to create a space for intergenerational exchanges and bind us to our inner child," says Akansha Rastogi, senior curator at Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and co-curator of Very Small Feelings.
Visitors can also enjoy a rare chance to see the sculptures of Bengali artist Leela Mukherjee, who died aged 93 in 2009, as part of Very Small Feelings. A pioneering artist in her own right, Mukherjee was often overshadowed by her more famous husband, Benode Behari Mukherjee.
"Art history knows her mostly in the supporting act as wife and mother. Very Small Feelings presents her as much more than that and, arguably for the first time, in such a researched way," says Diana Campbell, the summit's chief curator, acknowledging a need for women artists in Bonna to be celebrated and given their due.
The summit was initially established to promote home-grown artists from Bangladesh who lacked opportunities to compete at the global level. Despite having a long history of trailblazing artists, Bangladesh did not have a platform to showcase contemporary and cutting-edge art.
"We have a vibrant art scene but whenever I'd travel the world, rarely, if ever, I saw any reference to Bangladesh. The lack of representation meant that it became our mission to create one," says Nadia, who spends time mingling with artists and visitors wearing a sari.
She insists that her summit offers a unique model: "We don’t follow a traditional biennale format, which has given us the freedom and flexibility to evolve in our own way, adding in architecture, performance, education programmes, workshops and so on."
Since its launch in 2012, the summit has become increasingly popular with artists and gallerists from around the world. Having played a significant role in putting Bangladeshi art on the global map, Nadia hopes to foster more dialogue and partnerships between East and West in the future and continue serving as an institutional support system and incubator for artists and performers, regardless of their nationalities and ideologies.
"It has been an incredible journey and a big learning curve for us," she says. "Over the years, we have grown in size, scope and confidence, while remaining true to our original mission. One can't ask for more."
Dhaka Art Summit 2023 runs until Saturday. More information is available at dhakaartsummit.org
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
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THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 420 bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: from Dh293,200
On sale: now
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Company%20Profile
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Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Fixtures (6pm UAE unless stated)
Saturday Bournemouth v Leicester City, Chelsea v Manchester City (8.30pm), Huddersfield v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm), Manchester United v Crystal Palace, Stoke City v Southampton, West Bromwich Albion v Watford, West Ham United v Swansea City
Sunday Arsenal v Brighton (3pm), Everton v Burnley (5.15pm), Newcastle United v Liverpool (6.30pm)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Russia v Scotland, Thursday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Specs
Engine: 3.0L twin-turbo V6
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 405hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 562Nm at 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.2L/100km
Price: From Dh292,845 (Reserve); from Dh320,145 (Presidential)
On sale: Now
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans
Jasmin Mujanović, Hurst Publishers
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
