Transcending the roadblocks in creativity through marching ahead with experimental and refreshing ideas, Brihatta Art Foundation started its journey to its temporary address through the inaugural exhibition 'Mukti' on the roof of Mukti Tannery-1, in the Hazaribagh Tannery area in the capital on Saturday.

Known for its leather manufacturing and being one of the most polluted areas in Dhaka city, the abandoned tannery space was chosen by Brihatta Art Foundation which has renovated the place with the state-of-the-art design and a massive recycling process for four months, under the curation and supervision of renowned artist Bishwajit Goswami, founder of the Brihatta Art Foundation and Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Fine Art, Dhaka University.

Celebrating 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence, the inaugural exhibition ‘Mukti’ started welcoming the visitors to this unique, new art space from October 30, consisting of five artists from Bishwajit Goswami’s sculptural based curatorial project “Khujiya Dekho Tai” (Find, Create, Express) and a special artistic venture titled “Aay Tobe Sohochori” (Let’s Play Together) by the children of Hazaribagh Local School, Nalonda High School and many other schools under the supervision of artist Tania Sultana and Yunnan Arts University, China lecturer artist Mon Mong Sho.

Prior to welcoming the general art admirers, Brihatta hosted a two-day launching event on October 28, Thursday, and October 29, Friday. The event was attended by the locals, other tannery owners, street children, workers, children and their guardians, and neighbors of 'Brihatta's new space and artists participating in the exhibition.

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On Thursday, special guests including BGMEA Board of Directors member Rubana Haque, architect Saif Ul Haque, thespian Tanveen Sweety, and Dhaka University Dean at the Faculty of Fine Art Professor Nisar Hossain visited the exhibition on Thursday.

Leading Bangladeshi artists Farida Zaman, Mohammad Yunus, Tarun Ghosh, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, and renowned photojournalist Nasir Ali Mamun were present on Friday, alongside Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani, Co-Founders of Samdani Art Foundation, and Dato KM Rifatuzzaman, Editor of Showcase Magazine.

The special curatorial project “Khujia Dekho Tai” features five special sculpture-based artworks: ‘Transformation’ by artist Afia Noor, ‘Ensemble’ by Mohammad Mojahidur Rahman Sarker, ‘Breathing in and Out’ by Rasel Rana, ’Recast’ by Tapan Ghosh, and ‘Mukti’ by Mahmuda Siddika.

Meanwhile, the children-based special artistic venture “Aay Tobe Sohochori” features 24 child artists from different schools and surroundings. The group of young children joined Brihatta for an unprecedented, two-day painting event hosted at the new home of Brihatta for the first time, on two autumnal afternoons on September 10 and 11, conducted by Tania Sultana and Mong Mong Sho.

“As Brihatta set up the space for painting in the traditional "Patachitra" style of Bengal, the main challenge was to bring together so many children in just two days," according to the organizers. The children worked in an integrated manner on the surface of the long cloth, in two days, in ten different pots.

Regarding this unique exhibition and the newly renovated art space, the curator of this exhibition and Brihatta founder Bishwajit Goswami told UNB that the entire place is crafted based on recycling, reflecting his envisioned theme of “Ma Mati Manush Bhasha Swadesh Prokriti” (Mother, Earth, Human, Language, Motherland, and Nature).

“Gathering on the open roof-top courtyard at Brihatta's new space, with a language garden encased in foliage, with fruit, flowering, medicinal plants, and a vegetable garden, these artists sparked new narratives, telling stories, sharing tales, trading moments amongst themselves, weaving a web of new connections at the abandoned Mukti Tannery,” he told UNB.

“The flow of life in art and creative thinking also involves discovering a new form, and at the edge of this busy city where Brihatta brings together art and artistry, perhaps one day this space will be bustling, resonating with the sounds of the mighty Buriganga's currents, invigorating the people once again,” he added.

The exhibition will welcome the art admirers till September 5.