A British Council-supported exhibition examining how gender, climate resilience and community participation can shape public spaces in the Bengal Delta will open at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhaka on Saturday.
Titled “Dialogues in Coexistence: Shaping Inclusive Public Spaces in the Bengal Delta,” the interdisciplinary art and architecture exhibition will explore how feminist ethics can inform the design of more inclusive and climate-responsive civic spaces.
Supported under the British Council’s Women of the World (WOW) Bangladesh Grants Programme, the project is led by architects Saiqa Iqbal Meghna and Suvro Sovon Chowdhury, according to a press release.
The exhibition will be inaugurated at 5:00pm on 27 June and remain open to the public from 28 June to 25 July, from 10:00am to 8:00pm daily at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi.
The opening ceremony will be attended by Planning Ministry State Minister Zonayed Abdur Rahim Saki and Acting British High Commissioner and Development Director James Goldman. Bengal Foundation Director-General Luva Nahid Choudhury and British Council Bangladesh Country Director Stephen Forbes will preside over the event.
Architect, educator and Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements Director General Kazi Khaleed Ashraf will deliver a special address.
Developed with curatorial guidance from Bengal Foundation Director-General Luva Nahid Choudhury and Kala Kendra Founder Wakilur Rahman, the exhibition positions architecture as a platform for participation, belonging and shared stewardship rather than solely a physical discipline.
Visitors will encounter installations highlighting local materials, craft traditions and environmental sensitivity while reimagining the relationship between people, place and ecology.
Organisers said the project reflects the British Council’s broader efforts to advance gender equality and address climate challenges through arts and culture while supporting women-led creative practice and interdisciplinary collaboration.
The initiative is also intended to contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable creative economy by bringing together stakeholders from government, academia, development organisations and the cultural sector.
