Something incredible has happened. Dhaka Art Summit, now in its sixth edition, is incredible – that has already been established through the excitement demonstrated by hundreds of thousands of art connoisseurs, collectors, practitioners, enthusiasts and just curious general public from Bangladesh and beyond. But what’s more incredible is getting the inspiration for the theme of the next Dhaka Art Summit from a visitor.

Diana Campbell Betancourt, artistic director of Samdani Art Foundation and chief curator of Dhaka Art Summit, shared more on this with UNB in an exclusive interview.

So how did the theme for the next Dhaka Art Summit come about?

“There was a visitor [at Dhaka Art Summit] who was heartbroken and he’s like a first-year student at Dhaka University, and some girl broke his heart. He started writing on a notebook – kept for people to express their feelings about the exhibitions. He was writing, ‘I’m supposed to write about how I feel about this exhibition, but all I can write about is my pain – in loving you.’ We want the next summit to be based around this,” Diana excitedly says.

“So like Bonna has a meaning, this theme has a meaning too. But it’s also about how do you mend a broken heart? What are these feelings? The last [Dhaka Art] Summit’s [2020] theme was ‘Seismic Movements’ which refers to how the earth ruptures, and the current edition is about water and air coming over our bodies. These are external movements affecting us. What about the movements inside?” – she adds.

Why “Bonna” or flood as the theme of Dhaka Art Summit 2023?

Diana: “It means so many things, besides the obvious natural disaster, right? There are women named Bonna. In fact, we have an art mediator named Bonna. I think it also alludes to the power of words. For someone who speaks Bangla, it seems normal to name your kid ‘flood’. But for a foreigner, you wouldn’t name your kid ‘flood’ or ‘fire’.

“It was done on purpose to make people trip up and see maybe they don’t understand something… that maybe a word means something different in a different context. Words travel. So do oral histories… These words get stuck in your head… I thought it was really interesting to kind of look at these words. It’s not really about floods, and it’s not really about girls.

“It’s kind of about translation, and a little bit of all of the abovementioned.”

Does it feel like there’s something different about this year’s Dhaka Art Summit, considering the gap during the pandemic?

“The participation and turnout have been incredible. Due to the pandemic, the world had closed down. This year’s art summit has had a lot of artists and visitors from India… It was almost like the entire art world of India was here. We had visitors from as far away as Peru,” Diana says.

What are some things that make Dhaka Art Summit 2023 special?

Diana: “Inclusion and diversity, like never before. We are getting representation and voices in terms of gender and sexuality. Artists are really pushing it with how they represent the body, and what the body means. They are looking at the freedom to express themselves.

“There’s also use of allegories, symbolism: use of animals and nature in artwork. I think now, people are really thinking about the environment and the connection between humans and non-humans. You see a lot of that in mythology, like the Bon Bibi stories. It’s always been here, but the way the artists are expressing that is very interesting.

“There are also more socially-engaged artworks. Artists are trying to improve their communities, or at least impact their communities with their work.

“Then there’s collaboration between artists and interaction with the audience. I think that’s where Dhaka Art Summit has been most successful. Hundreds of thousands coming to the art summit, showing huge interest and curiosity in the art, interacting with the artists, in some cases becoming part of the performances, and contributing significantly to the conversation.

“The response from the global art community has also been tremendous. The hotels in Dhaka are sold out. Dhaka is not exactly an in-demand international tourist destination. They are coming to Dhaka because of the art, to meet the artists, and the public. When Bangladeshi art travels abroad, it’s a kind of this exotic thing. But when you are here, you get the full context and you can understand the art with all its nuances.”

“And lastly, Bangladeshis are so friendly and hospitable that it feels almost like a family reunion, if that makes sense. That’s why we have so many guests from overseas who are coming back to attend Dhaka Art Summit every time.”

Dhaka Art Summit 2023 opened on February 3 and will continue till February 11.