Brihatta Art Foundation

Residency brief

The Brihatta Art Foundation was founded by Artist Bishwajit Goswami, a professor in the Department of Drawing and Painting at Dhaka University's Faculty of Fine Arts, and Nusrat Mahmud, an entrepreneur based in Dhaka. The foundation is a research-based artist-run art platform with an aim to extend the accessibility and visibility of art through community engagement and development.

Brihatta means “immensity” in Bangla and is focused on the creation, and curation of art within the public realm, It is a dynamic liaison between artists, craftsmen, local and expat community members, and global practitioners to place artwork within a space that achieves shared goals.

This goes through organizing workshops, residencies, and art talks. They have showcased Bangladeshi art locally and internationally, on global platforms like Dhaka Art Summit and Paris Internationale.

In 2023, Brihatta launched an ongoing, internal research program at its art space with Artists and Artisans. Through this program, it aims to explore the key connections between art and craft; the artist with his intellectual process, versus the artisan with his manual work. How can we nurture creativity while keeping the sustainability of communities in mind? Who does authorship belong to in a collaboration like this? How can an object gain new cultural context through exchange?

In that regard, the Foundation is looking to host an artist who is interested in re-discovering traditional Bangladeshi crafts techniques, experiment with sustainable materials and found objects, keeping in line with its ethos of creating from nature and surrounding elements of old Dhaka.

  • Thematic focus Arts & Crafts, with a focus on Visual Arts, Sustainability and Community-based work.
  • Location Hazaribagh and Gulshan 1, Dhaka (Bangladesh).
  • Dates September 2025 - January 2026
  • Length of stay Average of 6 weeks

Our space

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is home to almost 20 million people and is at the heart of a constant artistic ferment. Artists from all over the country come together to create, experiment, exchange and exhibit. The Brihatta Art Foundation is housed in a building that is unique in that it is the result of a recycling and upcycling process, and reflects the meaning of the district's name, Hazaribagh, meaning "A Thousand Gardens" in Bengali : this abandoned tannery space was chosen by Brihatta Art Foundation in 2020 to create an urban green space for hosting year-round residencies and programmes for creatives from all over Bangladesh. The Alliance Française de Dhaka, which organizes around thirty exhibitions a year, and Dhaka's main art galleries are in the Dhanmondi district, around ten minutes away. The resident will be able to stay at the Brihatta art Foundation as well as in the accommodation of the annexe of Alliance Française de Dacca, shifting according to its needs.

Residency conditions

  • The resident must be open to exchange and learning with local creative communities in Old Dhaka. Bringing his/her own process of creation to the foundation, the knowledge exchange should entail a workshop, field visits, studio practice and a concluding visual presentation of the objects created. Knowledge produced during this exchange will be retained by the foundation for further research.
  • Impact is key. Brihatta believes in forming and sustaining long-lasting partnerships with its creative collaborators. Hence, it is important for the Resident to understand its core philosophy in creating and disseminating knowledge to diverse communities for the greater good, through the process of creation.
  • The resident should be willing to participate in different activities in educational institutions, workshops and collaborations with local artisans organized by the Brihatta Art Foundation according to the different opportunities.
  • The resident will be provided with a collective working studio house at Brihatta Art foundation, as well as all necessary material to do crafting.
  • The resident will be provided with hybrid accommodation. Two spaces will be available: a room at the Brihatta Art Foundation and another one at the annexe of Alliance Française de Dacca. The resident will be able to shift between these two spaces according to its needs.
  • The resident will be provided full meals, along with tea/coffee available upon request, when working or staying at Brihatta Art Foundation. When staying at the annexe of Alliance, the resident will have access to his/her own kitchen with all the facilities to cook.
  • In addition, the resident will receive a fixed stipend of EUR. 330 per month to cover his/her living expenses.
  • The resident will receive a fixed remuneration of EUR. 550 for the whole duration of his residency.
  • The resident’s travel costs to and from his/her home address in France will be taken directly by the French Institute in India.

Eligibility criteria

  • The resident has to be autonomous in English.
  • The resident needs to be independent in navigating the urban space of Dhaka, and to go from one place to another according to the programme of the residency. The resident will be introduced to the different transport modes at his/her arrival by the team of Alliance française.

Past Laureates

Second Edition (2024 - 2025)
Julia Lebrao Sendra Artist, Printmaker