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Back ART Foundation
Despite the challenge to initiate contemporary art projects in Dhaka alone, Back ART Foundation was formed in 2013 as an endeavour to link heritage with modern culture, combine diverse forces and develop activity which would open up the city’s art scene, providing emerging contemporary artists opportunities to expand their practice, and exhibit their experimental and performative work deemed too ambitious for conventional institutions. Believing in the transformative power of art, the group promotes new languages for art within Bangladesh by developing a variety of programmes ranging from exhibitions, workshops, and to the recent international performance art festival, Dhaka Live Art Biennale (D’LAB).
The name Back ART derives from the group’s university days when the founding members would carry their belongings in backpacks. In this bag all their arts equipment and ideas would be stored, almost like a portable studio. The name also has connotations with ‘bringing back’ native art, including folklore and traditional art forms, to the contemporary art scene: a theme explored in one of the group’s main programme strands, Native Myth; it is a yearly short term artist in residency project in rural areas.
Back ART Foundation envisions bringing art to the public; and it has already organized several public art projects, where many emerging and young artists were promoted to allow them flourish and help them reaching their full potential. Back ART creates innovative art project on diverse fields including mythology & rural lifestyle, urbanization, refugee & migration, memories, and language & performance, where artists incorporate various disciplines of art and science both.
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Back ART Projects:
BIO-NET-WORK, an online based art exhibition, started during COVID 19
Nature vs Nature, a research based project to address climate change
Dhaka Live Art Biennale (D’LAB), a bi-annual performance event
Native MYTH, a short term artist in residency in rural areas
Urban HOURS, a public Art project on Urbanization
ART&SCIENCE, workshop with school student
SONGLAAP, Performative workshops
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- Project Presentation & Exhibition:
Salina Art Center 2015, Salina, Kansas, USA
In 2015 Back ART Foundation had an opportunity to exhibit it’s projects to the Salina viewers. This exhibition was an extension of an artist in residency project of Salina Art Center.
Dhaka Art Summit 2018
In 2018, Back ART Foundation was showcased at Dhaka Art Summit 2018, the renowned bi-annual art exhibition in South Asia as part of Artists Led Initiative initiated by Samdani Art Foundation.
3rd Taiwan Annual 2018
In 2018, Back ART Foundation was showcased at 3rd Taiwan Annual 2018, the renowned annual art exhibition in Taiwan organized by Association of Visual Artists in Taiwan (AVAT).
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