Challenging the traditional regularities to express, explore and navigate creative thoughts through the nature of fear, a unique exhibition titled "In the Terrains of Fear" is now being held in the capital.

"Ghartera" – a transmuting art space and collaborating groups of artists with the motif to create alternatives to the established, mainstream narratives, and ideas – is hosting the event.

Inaugurated Friday, the exhibition will run till September 23 from 3pm to 9pm.

With the theme of "fear," 12 different art projects by artists, writers, activists, researchers, collectives, and curators from diverse backgrounds are being showcased at the exhibition, including Biglipseclipse (Yashab Osama Rahman), Razib Datta, Taiara Farhana Tareque, Junaid Iqbal Ishmam, Shehzad Chowdhury, AAA Battery, Project Pudina, Orchid Chakma, Kawsar Mia, Shamset Tabrejee, Oishik Jawad, and Khyapa collective.

Curated by Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo, Ata Mojlish, Aananda Antahleen, and Doito Bonotulshi, the exhibition is a collaboration between Ghartera and the Goethe Pop Up Festival and supported by the Goethe Institut Bangladesh.

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Apurbo, one of the curators of Ghartera, said the exhibition is intended to make art more accessible to the public than the traditional approach. "So, it is being organised in the under-construction venue of BBQ Express, a new restaurant located in Lalmatia."

"We have seen how the traditional gallery spaces often instruct and dictate the audiences with the traditional regulations, which is an irony as art should always enjoy adequate independence and freedom. As artists, we believe that art should be interactive and for everybody. So, we are making arts more accessible with our collaborative approach, with a special focus on breaking the fear of the usual and normative practices," he said.

Explaining the name Ghartera, Apurbo said, "The name Ghartera is synonymous with our identity, as the Bengali word refers to stubbornness or opinionated rebellion. The topics tackled and navigated in the show spread across a diverse set of spectrums, and they eventually come together as a criticism of the broader, overarching structures of oppression, and violence."

"Issues like indigenous rights, censorship and free speech, socio-economic struggles, political persecution, surveillance, and social movements, are being expressed in the exhibition through the artworks."

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"This edition is the result of two years' effort and failure; which in turn has helped us think, be critical of the art we want to show, and our stances. And this time, we are coming out of the gallery space and curating our show in the construction site of a restaurant, which is a part of Ghartera's fundamental process of critically engaging with and deconstructing the practice of curation," he continued.

"Ghartera seeks to bring together different narratives from different backgrounds that would ultimately create a collective voice of chaos and harmony. It is this collectivity and unity that has been missing from the fine art scene."

"Through this process of creating one's language, and dealing with the consequential struggles and shortcomings, we seek to construct a counter-narrative of the existing socio-political realities, as well as the art scene in a somewhat tenacious way," Apurbo said.