Two-week exhibition on River Heritage begins today

A two-week long exhibition and an open workshop titled ‘Learning from Puran Dhaka: The Urbanity of Occupations along the Buriganga Riverfront’ will begin today at La Galerie of Alliance Française de Dhaka, Dhanmondi in the capital.

The inaugural ceremony of the exhibition will be held today on the gallery premises in presence of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Fazle Noor Taposh, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union in Bangladesh Charles Whiteley, Ambassador of France to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy and Thijs Woudstra, Chargé d’affaires a.i, Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh.

A long-running heritage initiative, ‘River Heritage: Learning from Puran Dhaka’, is in its third chapter, led by the EUNIC cluster in Bangladesh (Alliance Française, Goethe-Institut, British Council, Spanish Embassy) and the EU Delegation in Bangladesh with support from the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh. A number of local partners are also working on this project, including Dhaka South City Corporation, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Brihatta Arts Foundation, Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute.

Over 50 architectural students and faculties from architecture schools in Dhaka, Mumbai, Trivandrum, and Paris will work on the project. They will be split into working groups to investigate topics such as endangered heritage, circular economy, urban agriculture, innovation as part of traditional activities, informal sectors, the way public space is distributed and corporate culture in the eight river docks (ghats) in old Dhaka. Throughout the workshop and exhibition, students will exhibit drawings, maps, sketches, observations, and photographs of old Dhaka.

Several cultural activities will follow the project throughout its length to inspire thought and curiosity about the old Dhaka’s tangible and intangible heritage.

The exhibition will be open to all every day from 3 pm to 9 pm till 20 February 2023.