US-funded cultural preservation project on SM Sultan’s artworks opened

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl Miller and Director General of Bangla Academy Mohammad Nurul Huda on Tuesday inaugurated the US-funded cultural preservation project on SM Sultan’s artworks at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi.

The 3-year initiative, funded through the US government’s prestigious Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), supports study, analysis, and restoration of the largest collection of paintings by one of Bangladesh’s most celebrated artists and will train young Bangladeshi conservation professionals on sustainable conservation techniques, methodologies, and restoration models.

Ambassador Miller presented a ceremonial plaque to the Bengal Foundation’s Director General Luva Nahid Chowdhury to formally inaugurate the project and toured the SM Sultan exhibition at the gallery.

The AFCP is among the US government’s most significant cultural initiatives abroad.

In the past 20 years, the United States has supported 12 AFCP projects totaling over $870,000 to preserve and restore Bangladeshi cultural heritage and patrimony, including restoring the 17th-century Mughal Hammam Khana in the Lalbagh Fort Complex; working with Varendra Research Museum to make its collection more accessible to the public; and documenting and preserving Baul song and cultural traditions, Jamdani weaving methods, and a 2,000-year-old metal casting technique.

The AFCP 2022 call for cultural preservation proposals is now open, with a deadline of December 1, 2021.