Gangaburi River Heritage Project set to conclude with book launch and exhibition

The two-year-long Gangaburi River Heritage Project, a collaborative initiative to revive the cultural memory of the Buriganga river, is nearing its conclusion. To mark the occasion, an art-based research book launch and a culminating exhibition will be held on 24 and 25 April respectively in Dhaka.

Jointly supported by the British Council, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, and Brihatta Art Foundation, the project has explored the history, ecology, and imagination surrounding the Buriganga river through a series of contemporary artistic practices and community-based research.

The concluding programme will begin with the launch of the book Gangaburi on Thursday, 24 April, at Goethe-Institut Bangladesh. The book acts as a living archive—connecting memories, communities, and artistic interpretations of life along the riverbanks of Old Dhaka.

Following the launch, an open-for-all exhibition titled Paal: Moving through Memories, Myths, and Motion will open on Friday, 25 April, at Brihatta Art Space, Hazaribagh. The exhibition will remain open till 2 May, from 2:00 to 6:30 p.m. daily.

While the book, funded by Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, documents EUNIC Bangladesh's broader engagement with river heritage, the exhibition—funded by the British Council—offers an immersive visual narrative tracing the creative evolution of Gangaburi across both its phases in 2023 and 2024.

The Gangaburi Project was originally launched by Brihatta Art Foundation in 2023, in association with EUNIC Bangladesh members: British Council, Goethe-Institut, Alliance Française de Dhaka, the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh, and the Embassies of Italy and Spain in Bangladesh. Its second phase, carried out in 2024, was solely funded by the British Council.

Over the two phases, the project brought together a diverse group of visual and performance artists. Notable contributors from Phase 1 included Ahmed Rasel, Aminul Islam Ashik, Anannya Mehpar Azad, Kazi Sydul Karim Tuso, Md. Khairul Alam (Shada), Nur A Alaa Siddique, and Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury.

Phase 2 featured Dinar Sultana Putul, Mojahid Musa, Bilas Mandal, Elodie Guignard, Moinuddin Moni, and Rupakalpa Chowdhury. Performance artists Farah Naz Moon, Yasmin Jahan Nupur, Joydeb Roaja, and urban traditional artists Mohammad Hanif Pappu and Syed Ahmed Hossain also played vital roles in supporting the cohorts' creative exploration.

Named after the song Gangaburi by Kafil Ahmed, the project was curated and directed by Shehzad Shahriar Chowdhury and Bishwajit Goswami. Together, they envisioned a platform that not only foregrounds artistic narratives but also reinforces the vital place of rivers in Bangladesh's cultural identity.