Flooding remains one of Bangladesh’s most pressing natural disasters, with this year’s floods inflicting widespread damage and hardship across the country. Concern Worldwide’s Flood Resilience Programme has documented the resilience of affected communities in northern Bangladesh through a new photobook, “Surging Hope: Stories of Climate Resilience” and an exhibition of the same name. World Press Photo Exhibition begins at Drik Gallery The exhibition launched Wednesday at Aloki on Tejgaon Link Road in Dhaka, highlighting stories of resilience among flood-prone communities that have confronted the impacts of climate change for generations. The opening ceremony was attended by dignitaries. Masud Jamil Khan, Honorary Consul of Ireland in Bangladesh, expressed his unwavering support for the cause. “In Bangladesh, I fully support initiatives for youth. Concern Worldwide has been active here since 1971, working tirelessly to support communities. Flooding disrupts families, education, and livelihoods. Photographer Saikat did an amazing job capturing the various forms of flooding in Bangladesh. In terms of climate change, we focus on the Sundarbans, ensuring tiger safety, access to fresh water, and providing other environmental support for the people of Bangladesh. We believe we can continue to make a difference,” said Honorary Consul Khan. USAID to provide $ 15 mln to boost climate resilience in Bangladesh Manish Kumar Agarwal, Country Director for Concern Worldwide Bangladesh, emphasised the importance of resilience-building efforts in the face of increasing climate challenges: “Today we have organised a photo exhibition titled Surging Hope: Stories of Climate Resilience. Concern has been working in northern Bangladesh to support communities vulnerable to climate change, particularly frequent flooding, in building resilience. We provide technical support to bolster their capacity to withstand these impacts. Climate change is a ticking time bomb for us, evidenced by this year’s back-to-back natural disasters. Bangladesh feels these impacts intensely. “Bangladesh did not create this crisis but is suffering the consequences. It deserves the critical climate finance required to scale up its adaptation efforts. This exhibition, timed just before COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, aims to highlight our work in building flood resilience in northern Bangladesh. We hope to raise awareness and inspire action from the public, students, media, government, and the international community,” he added.

The annex where the young Jewish diarist Anne Frank hid from Nazi occupiers during World War II is heading to New York. A full-scale replica of the rooms that form the heart of the Anne Frank House museum on one of Amsterdam's historic canals is being built in the Netherlands and will be shipped across the Atlantic for a show titled “ Anne Frank The Exhibition ” at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan. Anne Frank House renovated to tell story to new generation “For the first time in history, the Anne Frank House will present what I would call a pioneering experience outside of Amsterdam. To immerse visitors in a full-scale, meticulous recreation of the secret annex. Those rooms where Anne Frank, her parents, her sister, four other Jews, spent more than two years hiding to evade Nazi capture,” Anne Frank House director Ronald Leopold told The Associated Press in an interview detailing the upcoming exhibition. In July 1942, Anne Frank, then aged 13, her parents Otto and Edith, and her 16-year-old sister Margo went into hiding in the annex. They were joined a week later by the van Pels family — Hermann, Auguste and their 15-year-old son, Peter. Four months later, Fritz Pfeffer moved into the hiding place, also seeking to evade capture by the Netherlands' Nazi German occupiers. They stayed in the annex of rooms until they were discovered in 1944 and sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. Anne and her sister Margot were then moved to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both died of typhus in February 1945. Anne was 15. Her father, Otto, the only person from the annex to survive the Holocaust, published Anne's diary after the war and it became a publishing sensation around the world as a symbol of hope and resilience in the face of tyranny. Leopold said the New York exhibit promises to be “an immersive, interactive, captivating experience" for visitors. It opens on Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. While the faithfully rebuilt annex of rooms will be the heart of the exhibit, it also will trace the history of Anne's family from their time in Germany, their move to the Netherlands and decision to go into hiding, to their discovery by Nazis, deportation, Anne's death and the postwar decision by her father to publish her diary. “What we try to achieve with this exhibition is that people, our visitors will learn about Anne not just as a victim, but through the multifaceted lens of a life, as a teenage girl, as a writer, as a symbol of resilience and of strength. We hope that they will contemplate the context that shaped her life.” The exhibition comes at a time of rising antisemitism and anger at the devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that has now spread to the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel. “With ever fewer, fewer, survivors in our communities, with devastating antisemitism and other forms of group hatred on the rise in the U.S. but also across the world, we feel ... our responsibility as Anne Frank House has never been greater," Leopold said. "And this exhibition is also in part a response to that responsibility to educate people to stand against antisemitism, to stand against group hatred.” Anne's diary will not be making the transatlantic trip. “We unfortunately will not be able to travel with the diary, writings, the notebooks and the loose sheets that Anne wrote. They are too fragile, too vulnerable to travel," Leopold said. Among 125 exhibits that are traveling from Amsterdam for the New York exhibition are photos, albums, artefacts such as one of the yellow stars Jews were ordered to wear in the occupied Netherlands, as well as the Best Supporting Actress Oscar won by Shelley Winters for her role in George Stevens’ 1959 film “The Diary of Anne Frank.

A weeklong art and photography exhibition kicked off on Monday, marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to boost bilateral ties between Bangladesh and China.Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen attended the inaugural session of the exhibition at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy as the chief guest. The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Bangladesh and the Association of Bangladesh-China Alumni (ABCA) are jointly organizing the exhibition while Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Confucius Institute of Dhaka University, Bangladesh-China Friendship Center, Confucius Institute of North South University, Confucius Classroom of SMUCT and Bangla Department of China Media Group (CMG) are the co-organizers of the program. JICA to help improve Bangladesh’s justice delivery system Professor Nisar Hossain, Dean of the Dhaka University Faculty of Fine Art attended the program as the special guest while former Ambassador Munshi Faiz Ahmad presided over the function that was also spoken by Liaquat Ali Lucky, Director General at Shilpakala Academy, Dr Yang Hui, Director at the Confucius Institute of Dhaka University and Professor Dr Shahabul Haque, general secretary of ABCA. The Chinese envoy said that the people-to-people connectivity between Bangladesh and China would be strengthened through the BRI project. "The seeds of friendship we planted together over the years have blossomed into what we see today and will yield even more fruitful results. The BRI project is helping Bangladesh to develop its road communication sector hugely, promoting overall development and industrialization," Yao said.

In line with 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on Saturday inaugurated the exhibition "Words from the Heart" at Drik Gallery. Thijs Woudstra, Charge d' Affaires of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, addressed the opening ceremony alongside lead artist Fareha Zeba. Aware of Moscow's ‘deliberate mischaracterization’ of US foreign policy, Ambassador Haas’ meetings: Washington says This exhibition puts forward the result of last month's five-day art workshop with a team of fifteen artists. The team comprises artists from gender-diverse communities, Rickshaw painters, and contemporary visual artists.  The artist team is composed of Fareha Zeba, Saidul Haque Juise, T H Tonmoy, Surovi Sriti, Auntora Mehrukh Azad, Rasel Rana, Monir Hossain, S A Noor Ali, Mrinalini Devi, Jordan Aswad, Sharif Hasan, Zara Rahman, Himel Hossain, Abhijit Sinha, and Miraj Hossain. Saidul Haque Juise curated the exhibition. Bangladesh briefs Delhi-based diplomats on political situation, preparations for polls The art workshop produced paintings that reflect stories of the challenges and successes of gender-diverse communities using the techniques of Rickshaw art, which is considered an integral component of Bangladesh's local culture. This exhibition touches two themes together – it brings the Kingdom of the Netherlands' commitment to diversity and inclusion through an activity that connects with Bangladesh's urban folk art and culture. FOC: Bangladesh, India hold comprehensive discussions on trade, security, border issues The exhibition will run every day between 26 November to 10 December from 3 pm to 8 pm at Drik Gallery.

A weeklong solo exhibition of driftwood artworks of sculptor Akhtar Ahmed Rasha highlighting Bangladesh’s Liberation War, women’s empowerment, and nature began at Safiuddin Shilpalay in Dhaka's Dhanmondi on Thursday. Cultural personality and lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor inaugurated the exhibition organised by Studio Vertical, according to a press release. Read : ‘The Reflection of Endless Mystery’: Nabaraj Roy's first solo exhibition opens at AFD The exhibition titled "Drifting to the Root, Drifting to Love" is the first exhibition in the country by Rasha, an expatriate sculptor who employs natural materials like branches, roots, and trunks to craft found object art. He earlier joined a number of solo and group exhibitions in New Jersey, New York, and Washington, DC, the US, said the release. Read : BSA commemorates August 21 with photography and public art exhibition "I’ve tried to give expression to my experience of life in Bangladesh, and the process started with scavenging driftwood on beaches along the Atlantic coast. I am happy that I’ve focused on the Liberation War, especially for friends of Bangladesh abroad," said the artist. As many as 53 artworks have been put on display at the exhibition, which will remain open to the public between 11:00 am and 7:00 pm every day until September 13. Read : Atia Islam Anne’s third solo exhibition ‘Contemporary Narratives’ opens at AFD Art collector Abul Khair Litu, among others, addressed the inaugural ceremony chaired by Professor Nisar Hossain, dean at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University.

The maiden solo art exhibition of artist Nabaraj Roy titled ‘The Reflection of Endless Mystery’ has begun at Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) in the capital's Dhanmondi. The inaugural ceremony of the exhibition was held at 6 pm on Friday at La Galerie. Read: Rabindranath Tagore’s 82nd death anniversary being observed Eminent artist and Dhaka University Emeritus Professor Rafiqun Nabi joined the event as the chief guest, while distinguished artist and former Professor of Fine Art at Rabindra Bharati University, Nikhil Ranjan Pal, along with Dean of the Dhaka University Faculty of Fine Art Prof Nisar Hossain joined the event as special guests. Presented within the exhibition titled "The Reflection of Endless Mystery," there are 25 captivating artworks encompassing acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media paintings, as well as sculptures that showcase the brilliance of Nabaraj's artistic journey. Read: Exhibition on Rana Plaza tragedy underway at Drik Gallery Ever since childhood, artist Nabaraj Roy has been greatly attracted to the aesthetic diversity of forms found in nature. It is this diversity that drives him to create new shapes and forms. The contradictions emerging from the scenes, time, forms, and structures of urban and rural dwellings have had a deep-rooted impact on his mind.  Alongside these, the changes in time and culture have left deep impressions as well. When new shapes and forms are created spontaneously in this world of images today, they all contribute to expanding his thought. These are the forms that keep on returning to his canvas. Through these, he creates his art, his symphony! With his creations inspired by folk forms, urbanization, and nature,  Roy's works have captivated audiences with their unique perspective. This exhibition promises an immersive showcase of young artist Nabaraj Roy's artistic evolution, offering spectators a chance to engage with his distinctive interpretations of the world. Read: ‘Eternal Existence’: Curtain rises on Sourav Chowdhury's 5th solo exhibition at AFD Among his distinguished recognitions are the 2020 SM Sultan Foundation Award and the 2019 Special Award from the Mount Fuji Painting Exhibition in Bangladesh.  An alumnus of the University of Development Alternative (UODA) in Dhaka, Roy graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree, specializing in painting. Expanding his artistic prowess, he pursued a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Painting from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, India, completing his studies in 2016. The exhibition will be open to all till Tuesday, September 12, Monday to Saturday from 3 pm to 9 pm.

The seventh China-South Asia Expo kicked off Wednesday in Kunming. Also read: Atia Islam Anne’s third solo exhibition ‘Contemporary Narratives’ opens at AFD More than 30,000 exhibitors, representatives and guests from 85 countries and regions, and international organizations, are expected to attend both online and offline activities during the five-day expo. Also read: China's Xi calls for measures to mitigate disastrous flooding amid economic slowdown The expo, themed "Solidarity and Coordination for Common Development," has set up 15 exhibition halls featuring diverse themes including South Asia Pavilion, Southeast Asia Pavilion, resource-based economy pavilion, and port economy pavilion. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

An exhibition, a video performance and a musical concert were organized to celebrate the 'Boat project' on Sunday evening at Shyambazar Kheyaghat, Puran Dhaka. This exhibition was the result of a workshop titled 'Learning from Puran Dhaka: The Urbanity of Occupations along the Buriganga Riverfront', in which 50 students and faculty from Dhaka, Mumbai, Trivandrum, and Paris participated. A photo exhibition by students of Pathshala South Asian Media Institute was on display at  Shyambazar Kheyaghat. The exhibition was organized by the participating students of the workshop at different places at Puran Dhaka where the students were divided into 8 different groups to map life along the river, investigate endangered heritage and the micro economy. Also Read: 'Learning from Puran Dhaka' begins at AFD An entertainment event by Joler Gaan was held along the ghat (docks). The performance was organized on a traditional boat to commemorate Puran Dhaka’s intangible heritage. Video Performance by Ramona Poenaru and Gaël Chaillat of Compagnie Des Châteaux en l’air portrayed the customs and the daily life activities of the people along the ghat at Ruplal house through the projection. The 'Boat' project is curated by Ashfika Rahman "River Heritage: Learning from Puran Dhaka" is a long-running heritage initiative currently in its third chapter. It is led by Alliance Française, Goethe-Institut, British Council, the Spanish Embassy and the EU Delegation in Bangladesh, with support from the Embassy of the Netherlands.  

A living exhibition and an open workshop titled "Learning from Puran Dhaka: The Urbanity of Occupations along the Buriganga Riverfront" began at La Galerie of the Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD) Saturday. Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Bangladesh Charles Whiteley, Ambassador of France to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy and Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh Chargé d'affaires Thijs Woudstra joined the opening ceremony. "It's a beautiful project. The heritage of Dhaka is very important and the heritage of Old Dhaka is extremely important," said Ambassador Whitely, adding that it is very exciting to see some students will be exploring Old Dhaka.

Research-based art exhibition "River Delta" has begun at La Galerie of the Alliance Française de Dhaka (AFD). River and Delta Research Center Chairman Mohammad Azaz attended the opening ceremony as the special guest Friday. River Delta is the first phase of an ongoing five-year study on Bangladesh's rivers. The exhibition is curated by Juel A Rob.  Artists Apu Raj Bongshi, Mohosin Kabir, Shimul Datta, Najmun Nahar Keya, Promotesh Das Pulak and Mohammad Hasanur Rahman are participating in the exhibition. Since Bangladesh is a riverine country, a large part of its food chain, trade, communication, and livelihood are river centric. Many communities are directly connected to rivers. The ebb and flow of the rivers weave the stories of many communities, including fishermen, river gipsies, washermen, salt cultivators, sailors, and shrimpers. However, after the passage of 51 years, Bangladesh has started to take precautions regarding the proper maintenance of water resources, said the AFD. So, it is very important to create awareness at all levels of society, to have constructive discussions, discharge civic and state responsibilities, and to prepare for the next step by studying different types of case studies, it added. "In that case, it is very important to understand the internal or international political context. Many issues, including complexities within the country, river encroachment; protection of river environment, aquatic life and fauna diversity, international power politics, protection of potable water bodies, ocean and river governance, are involved here," the AFD said.