To showcase rare and never before seen images by veteran French photographer Anne de Henning — shot during her visits to Bangladesh in 1971 to 1972 — Samdani Art Foundation and Centre for Research and Information (CRI) have arranged an exhibition in Dhaka. The exhibition titled ‘Witnessing History in the Making: Photographs by Anne de Henning’ will celebrate the photographer’s visit to Bangladesh after 50 years. The exhibition at Dhaka’s Liberation War Museum will be held from December 15 to December 24. Anne de Henning will be present at the opening ceremony and give a special tour through her exhibition. She will also revisit some of the places she had been in during her 1971 and 1972 visits. Between 1971 and 1972, the photojournalist captured the birth of the nation and her remarkable private archive of unseen photographs is a unique record of the pivotal years which saw East Pakistan transformed into Bangladesh. The earliest set of photographs from 1971 cover Anne’s first visit to the country at the age of 25. During  the early days of conflict in April, the Pakistani authorities were obstructing foreign journalists to keep them from reporting on the atrocities on the civilian population after Operation Searchlight on March 26, 1971. This encouraged Anne to secretly travel to East Pakistan along with her colleagues. Also read: 55 Bangladeshi self-taught artists to join Victory Day art exhibition in Dubai Recalling her first encounter with the Mukti Bahini, she said, “I saw a handful of young Mukti Bahinis stepping out of their makeshift observation post flanked by a tall bamboo pole flying the green, red and yellow Bangladesh flag. They greeted me by saying with broad smiles: ‘You are now in free Bangladesh!’” Traveling through the country during the Liberation War, her photographs captured life in the war zone – from freedom fighters to men, women and children boarding refugee trains and fleeing from their villages. On her second visit to the country, Anne’s photographs from 1972 feature Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who, all his life, worked to decolonise the nation from British and Pakistani rule and move towards democracy and freedom. “There's a leader from the subcontinent who led his country to independence based on very progressive ideals of a secular, equal country for all,” said Radwan Mujib Siddiq, grandson of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and trustee of CRI, expressing his views about the photographs. “The whole of Bangladesh got behind him, they fought a war against all odds, and Bangladesh emerged independent,” he said. Anne captured Bangabandhu giving a speech at the first Council Meeting of Awami League after the independence of Bangladesh. “I came specifically from Calcutta to photograph the event,” she said. Although at the time Anne favoured shooting in black and white, she chose to capture this event in colour because of the vibrant blue, white and red stripes of the shamiyana — ceremonial tent — that housed the event.  Images of Bangabandhu were systematically destroyed after the coup of 1975 and Anne’s surviving colour photographs are among the few known to still exist.

British-Bangladeshi philanthropist Nadia Samdani has been named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, media outlets reported from London quoting Samdani Art Foundation. The Birthday Honours list recognises the achievements of a wide range of extraordinary people across the UK. Nadia, co-founder of the not-for-profit Samdani Art Foundation, has been recognised for services to global art philanthropy and supporting the arts in Bangladesh, South Asia and the United Kingdom. Being awarded, Nadia said, “I am thrilled that this honour comes as part of celebrations for Her Majesty the Queen's 70-year reign, and her length of service and commitment is something I hope to emulate in my ongoing work.” It's an extraordinary honour to receive recognition for over a decade of supporting and nurturing artistic talent. It's been heartening to see the huge levels of public engagement with their work, and how the Foundation has fostered new cross-cultural dialogues between Bangladesh and the rest of the world, she added. Also read:Samdani Art Foundation, CRI to exhibit unseen photographs of 1971-72 She has brought attention to Bangladeshi contemporary artists both at home and internationally through her efforts with the Foundation, resulting in their works being included in major international public institutions and collections. Nadia Samdani MBE is also the director of the Dhaka Art Summit. In 2011, with husband Rajeeb Samdani, she established the Samdani Art Foundation to support the work of Bangladesh and South Asia's contemporary artists and architects and increase their exposure. As part of this initiative, she founded the Dhaka Art Summit - the highest visited art summit in the world - which has since completed five successful editions under her leadership. Nadia Samdani is a member of Tate's South Asia Acquisitions Committee, Tate's International Council, Alserkal Avenue's Programming Committee and the Delfina Foundation's International Council, and is one of the founding members of The Harvard University Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute's Arts Advisory Council. In 2017, with her husband Rajeeb, she was the first South Asian arts patron to receive the prestigious Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award.

Samdani Art Foundation and Centre for Research and Information (CRI) are going to exhibit rare photographs on the birth of the nation from 1971-72 captured by French photojournalist Anne de Henning marking the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence. The exhibition of rare and never before exhibited images, which are later curated by Ruxmini Reckvana Q Choudhury, will be held from December 10-31 at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The photojournalist’s remarkable private archive of unseen photographs is a unique record of the pivotal years which witnessed the transformation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan. In her powerful images the humanity of her subjects is combined with the grit of traditional photojournalism. Read:Art exhibition, Pitha Utsab held at FSA Anne’s first visit to Bangladesh was at the age of her 26 in 1971 when the Pakistani authorities in Dhaka were not letting foreign journalists into the country. Travelling through the country during the Liberation War, her photographs captured life in the war zone – from freedom fighters to men, women and children boarding refugee trains and fleeing from their villages. While recalling Anne’s first encounter with the Mukti Bahini she said, “I saw a handful of young Mukti Bahinis stepping out of their makeshift observation post flanked by a tall bamboo pole flying the green, red and yellow Bangladesh flag. They greeted me by saying with a broad smile: ‘You are now in free Bangladesh’!” She also said, “The first striking memory I have is of my crossing to East Pakistan from India in the blistering heat and dead silence.”