The Goethe-Institut Bangladesh and Drik Picture Library inaugurated an international travelling exhibition at the Drik Gallery in Dhaka's Panthapath Friday to showcase the violence of gender constructions, and patriarchal forms of aggression on more vulnerable bodies. Curated by Vidisha Fadescha, "Let no one mistake us for the fruit of violence" is part of the Goethe-Institut's ongoing M3: Man, Male and Masculinity regional Project which includes Bangladesh and five other institutes in India. Read BSA commemorates August 21 massacre with visual art show

German cultural institution Goethe-Institut Bangladesh and HerStory Foundation are jointly initiating a co-creation project titled 'The Myth Bridge,' bringing together a group of Bangladeshi and German participants to write a modern day myth by playing out selected legendary heroines. The game will be played over the course of four-days in Dhaka and is based on Dungeons & Dragons. The game sessions, held at the Goethe-Institut from May 12-15 will be directed by Game Master, Wasi Noor Azam. Also read: 'Golden Jubilee Bangladesh Concert' held at Madison Square Garden in New York Regarding the unique venture, organizers said that 'The Myth Bridge' connects nine female characters from German and Bengali folklore, brought to life, across space and time, through a live-action simulation. The initiative involves a group of writers, illustrators, editors and translators and will result in a publication of the modern-day feminist myth and exhibition both in the digital and physical realms, according to the organizers. On Sunday, May 15 the finale of 'The Myth Bridge' game will be played to a live audience. According to Goethe-Institut Bangladesh and HerStory Foundation, this is going to be the first live Dungeons & Dragons game in Bangladesh. The event is open to all upon registration on the FB event page. Players will act out the final act of the story, bringing their adventure to an end. In the following months the editors and creative director will work to create a short graphic novel out of the events of the 4-day game. Also read: Again in the City, a new gift from artist "HOBEKI?" The final outcome of 'The Myth Bridge' project will be published for the Dhaka Lit Fest in early 2023. In the live action game, Sayeef Mahmud will play BON BIBI, Kazi Istela Imam will play CHADER BURI, Akramul Momen will play BEHULA, Saad Z Hossain will play BIBI MAA, and Salzar Rahman will play THE FOX from Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Lina Ehrentraut will play BRUNHILDE, Maki Shimizu will play REPUNZEL, Mia Sophie Oberländer will play FRAU PRECHTA, and Malwine Stauss will play SCHNEEWITTEN (Snow White) from Germany. As legends and folklore are told and spread across generations, the stories manifest themselves into worlds in 'The Myth Bridge.' According to the organizers, 'The Myth Bridge' is a reality that hosts stories where the characters come to life. Each world created in the Myth Bridge is a story of its own, and the more the story is told the more bridges it has to connect itself with the rest of 'The Myth Bridge.' Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop role-playing game made all the way back in the 1970s. Players create or choose a character and go through a fantasy themed adventure where the game can stretch as far as the imagination can go. The deciding factor of the outcome of the game is up to the imagination and ingenuity of the players, and of course, their luck with the polyhedral dice.

As part of the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh’s 60th anniversary project 'Goethe Pop Up Festival' and to address the deteriorating conditions of the rivers in climate-vulnerable Bangladesh, a short documentary film ‘Once There Were Rivers’ was screened at Sonargaon in Narayanganj district on Thursday, November 18. Broqué, the first upcycled high-end streetwear fashion lab in Bangladesh, premiered the short documentary film created and directed by Dhaka-based Mahenaz Chowdhury, founder and zero-waste designer of Broqué, in collaboration with Berlin-based Simone Simonato, founder of SICA Upcycling Design. Read:Korea Film and Tourism Festival 2021 starts in Dhaka on Nov 24 Together with the people interviewed for the documentary film, their families and neighbours, the first screening took place at Sonargaon, Narayanganj district which was hosted by Mahenaz Chowdhury at Rajon Miah’s jamdani atelier. Miah is the owner of Sonia Jamdani, who was one of the interviewees for the documentary. The film captures the lives of the jamdani weaving community and their connection to the river and how over the years, growing river pollution impacted the value of their revered craft.  “As time passes, we fade into dust, but films like this, tells our story for the new generations to realize the importance of caring about our lives, our rivers and value our craft. I appreciate the initiative taken by Mahenaz in making such a beautiful film,” says Rajon Miah.

Goethe-Institut Bangladesh and Goethe-Institut Kolkata Friday launched the event "Longing and Belonging," a collection of narratives on the 1947 partition, on Facebook. Assembling the narratives of the 1947 partition by a section of Dhaka residents who experienced or were affected by that course of history, the Longing and Belonging project presents a collection of interviews and visual materials to trace the contours of those negotiations and attachments and to establish, in their fluid state, how a place makes subjects and subjects make a place. The event featured readings, discussions, reflections and poetry recitation. Writer-researcher Parsa Sanjana Sajid and researcher-educator Professor Sayeed Ferdous, the project co-leads, were accompanied by a group of invited local and foreign experts – comprising Canada-based Pakistani writer, oral historian and educator Anam Zakaria; human rights lawyer and founder of the organisation Council of Minorities Khalid Hussain, writer Javed Hussen; Indian writer, journalist and photographer Nazes Afroz and poet Shamim Zamanvi. "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has warned us of 'the danger of a single story' – and the different chapters of 'Inherited Memories' follow that proposition. The project particularly explores the diversity of recollections, of memories that continue to live on in space and time and across generations. Read, view and listen in to Longing and Belonging, and be ready for a journey full of discoveries of diversity in the 'Indian émigré' communities of Mirpur and Mohammadpur," Dr Kirsten Hackenbroch, director of Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, said at the event. Also read: Goethe-Institut, HerStory Foundation to host virtual reading circle on Priyabhashini Parsa Sanjana said, "Longing and Belonging is pieced together from jagged conversations, supplemented by photographs, memorabilia, and archival documents. It's a collection of narratives from Urdu-speaking – whom the poet Ahmed Ilias calls Indian emigres as a more accurate encapsulation – residents of Dhaka's Mirpur and Mohammadpur, communities who were affected by the 1947 partition of British colonial India. Longing and Belonging stands as a record and testimony of community, and offers reflections on home, attachments, friendship, identity, the generational transmission of stories and more." While speaking on oral history and narratives as inheritance, Anam Zakaria said, "Close to 75 years after the partition of 1947 and 50 years since the birth of Bangladesh, it is increasingly evident that the experiences and memories of those years continue to shape us." "Far from being static 'events' that we can leave behind, Longing and Belonging reminds us of how our present leaves imprints on our understanding of the past and the past impacts our present. Memories and histories are passed on from generation to generation, taking on new meanings and revealing the journey of partition after partition." Also read: Goethe and HerStory Foundation to host 'Sister Library: Orlando by Virginia Woolf' on Wednesday Nazes Afroz, who supervised and led the first part of the Inherited Memories/My Parents' World, said: "These memory projects are immensely helpful for the present generation to negotiate the past events that are shaping them. Historical events have human faces and human stories that are often overlooked. Through these projects, we are trying to humanise the events that left an indelible impact on the lives of millions." Longing and Belonging is another phase of Goethe-Institut's Inherited Memories project, which assembles narratives of the 1947 partition by those who experienced or were affected by that course of history. More than recollections, these are openings that offer an understanding of negotiations and attachments, their deepening or dissolution, from the cleaved circumstances of partition into the present.

German cultural organization Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, in partnership with HerStory Foundation, is going to host a virtual circle reading of the autobiography ‘Nindito Nondon’ by late sculptor, author, and Birangana of 1971 Liberation War Ferdousi Priyabhashini on Wednesday, marking her 75th birth anniversary.

Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, in partnership with HerStory Foundation is going to host an online circle reading of British modernist author Virginia Woolf's famous autobiographical novel 'Orlando' on Wednesday, 7 pm at the online platform Zoom. Open to any adult audience upon free registration, the event titled 'Sister Library: Circle Reading Apart Together' will feature the popular novel as the latest edition of the monthly reading circle, which went virtual after the coronavirus outbreak around the world last year.

German cultural institution Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, in partnership with HerStory Foundation will host a digital reading circle of My Young And Foolish Heart, a play by German author-playwright Anja Hilling on Wednesday, 7 pm on the online platform Zoom.

German cultural organization Goethe-Institut Bangladesh has recently launched its second edition of the Science Film Festival, virtually taking place in Bangladesh which has already earned its recognition as a celebration of science communication in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Demonstrating this year's theme “Science can be fun” - the festival is aiming to present scientific issues accessibly and entertainingly to a great number of audiences in 30 countries from October 01 till December 20. Like all other major festivals and festivities this year, the second edition is taking place virtually with a total of 24 films to the audience of early learners to university students. With this year’s theme of ‘Sustainable Development Goals’, the 2020 festival is in global partnership between the Goethe-Institut and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). According to the institution, the festival promotes science literacy and facilitates awareness of contemporary scientific, technological and environmental issues through international films with accompanying educational activities, in cooperation with local partners. The inaugural ceremony of the festival was recently held on Zoom, chaired by Goethe-Institut Bangladesh Director Dr Kirsten Hackenbroch. United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Mia Seppo and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) Dr Samiya A Selim joined the ceremony as special guests, along with a number of science enthusiasts, teachers, environmentalists, scientists and students.

German language school and cultural organization Gothe-Institut Bangladesh has launched a funding initiative titled “Futures beyond the Self” for all Bangladeshi artists/artistes, art collectives, cultural activists, and cultural organizations for their innovative projects.