Faults with our art sector: Glancing through a curator's lens

In the final days of July, amidst the monsoon-soaked serenity of Dhaka, the Embassy of Japan bore witness to a grand culmination; a convergence of culture, diplomacy and visual storytelling, through the resplendent closing of the nine-day-long art exhibition titled “Origins of Vision.”

This monumental undertaking, a joint collaboration between HerNet Fine Arts and the Embassy of Japan, unfolded as the most ambitious and majestic art affair the city had seen since 2023.

The closing ceremony was graced by a gathering of government advisors, foreignambassadors, cultural dignitaries, veteran, VC, academicians, senior and emerging artists, underprivileged children and ardent art lovers.

Within the sacred halls of the embassy, attendees were transported through time via a rare presentation of masterpieces—original works and archival tributes of Bangladeshi art luminaries such as Zainul Abedin, SM Sultan, Novera Ahmed, Rashid Choudhury, Safiuddin Ahmed, Mohammad Kibria and Quamrul Hassan.

Many of these historic works were being publicly exhibited for the first time, creating an atmosphere of reverence and wonder, Along with 55 artworks by 47 artists from Bangladesh and abroad.

“Origins of Vision” did not merely exhibit art—it reignited dialogue, invoking a long-sought artistic consciousness. For the first time in years, Dhaka’s fragmented cultural landscape vibrated with a sense of unity. Yet the rarity of such grandeur is, in itself, a lamentable indicator. Why are such events so few? Why does the art scene remain so peripheral in the national imagination, despite
our rich heritage?

To comprehend this lamentable state, one must journey backward. Bangladesh, a land with a thousand-year-old legacy of artistic brilliance—from terracotta and folk crafts to ancient scrolls and spiritual miniatures—once breathed art as part of daily life. Fast forward to the modern era, this grand tradition seems tragically diminished. The visual arts have been cornered into academia, elite circles, or the occasional state-led initiatives that often lack innovation and exclusivity.

Despite the country’s significant rise in socioeconomic status, the evolution of cultural taste has lagged. Where citizens invest eagerly in property, luxury goods and lifestyle accoutrements, a parallel appetite for collecting or supporting art remains strikingly absent.

That said, we must salute the small yet crucial fraternity of art collectors whose dedication has kept the modest art market afloat. This brings us to the institutions—brave bastions of creativity that, despite limited resources, have upheld the artistic spirit of the nation. Private organisation names like Bengal Foundation, Gallery Chitrak, Shafiuddin Art Foundation, Abinta Gallery, Cosmos gallery, Drik Gallery, Edge Gallery, Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation, Gallery Kaya etc have long contributed to nurturing artistic excellence in Bangladesh. Their efforts, often rooted in personal commitment rather than sustainable models, have kept the flickering flame of our art sector alive.

Amidst these stalwarts, HerNet Fine Arts emerges as a young but resolute member of this community. In less than a year, it has organized seven landmark national initiatives in partnership with international organisations, five star hotels, embassies, universities.

HerNet has also launched Art Fair in the city in may 2025 – democratizing art through pop-up fair.

Beyond exhibitions, HerNet Fine Arts is innovating infrastructure: launching Bangladesh’s first Digital Art Data Centre and completing over 50 free websites for artists. By the end of 2025, the organization plans to introduce the Artist Mileage Card—an initiative to honour and support artists via strategic collaborations, blending technology with tradition.

However, we must also confront infrastructural deficits. Bangladesh, a nation of nearly 200 million, has barely 10 private galleries—of which barely two meet international curation standards. Most are confined to repurposed apartments lacking spatial elegance or artistic ambiance. By contrast, Nepal has over 50 galleries, Sri Lanka 30+, Malaysia over 300, Singapore more than 60. Europe boasts hundreds per nation; the UK over 7,000; and the United States leads the world with approximately 34,000.

Are we as a people less inclined toward intellectual exploration?

As someone who has traversed over 30 countries and explored more than 50 galleries and museums, I have often found myself the lone Bangladeshi presence in these temples of culture.

Our citizens—whether affluent business magnates or hardworking expatriates—explore Western nightlife and cinema with enthusiasm, yet rarely tread the quiet, contemplative corridors of galleries and museums.

Bangladesh’s elite have yet to develop a taste for collecting and understanding visual art. Owning a painting or sculpture is more than aesthetics — it’s an unspoken intellectual badge, a conversation starter, a timeless witness to history hanging on one’s wall.

Here, that appetite remains dormant. Clearly this is not a matter of economic capacity; it is a cultural disposition. We are, perhaps, more easily drawn to pleasure than to profundity.

Opportunities for artists to grow are few and far between. International residencies, workshops and meaningful seminars are rare.

As in many other fields, the gender gap persists. Women artists — especially after marriage or motherhood — are often written off. Some try to re-enter the art world, only to be labeled “hobbyist housewives,” rather than respected creators.

Even successful women artists rarely act as mentors for others; their time becomes consumed by their own survival in a space still unwelcoming to many.

Without spaces to dialogue, reflect, and showcase their evolution, many artists plateau early. There is also a professional etiquette crisis — basic codes of loyalty, responsibility, and transparency in engagements with institutions are often missing. This calls for a public or private body to institutionalize basic standards.

A thriving art sector depends on both supply and demand. While we have no shortage of creative talent, there is a drought in the audience — the connoisseurs, the collectors and most crucially, the critics. Without professional art criticism, how can an artist evolve? How can we distinguish authentic, original creation from the sea of borrowed inspiration?

The way forward lies in engineering an art ecosystem—one that fosters critique , scholarship, entrepreneurship, sustained dialogue and incentivize artists' growth, and ensure professional integrity.

It was against this canvas of quiet desperation that I assumed the role of Chief Curator and recently curated "Origins of Vision." As the concept originator and chief editor of its accompanying Coffee Table Book, I sought to curate not just a selection of artworks, but an entire narrative. This exhibition was not born in a vacuum. It was the crescendo of a growing movement led by HerNet Fine Arts, an initiative under the HerNet Foundation since 2018 & its media wing HerNet TV —a platform I founded to bridge women’s wellbeing, community development and
artistic expression.

Through each initiative, I have pledged not just to curate art, but to curate change.

The government must abandon its bureaucratic inertia and join hands, not through politicized rituals, but through dynamic, results-driven partnerships with national and foreign stakeholders.

We need joint models, long-term strategies, and above all, a cultural awakening.
We may only be a droplet in the vast ocean of Bangladesh’s cultural legacy, but lets choose to ripple — with every exhibition, every platform, every effort — until our artists and their art receive the place they’ve always deserved.

This can not be a solitary mission. It is a collective cause. Let us, together pledge—to continue forging paths where none exist, to democratize access to art, and to elevate Bangladeshi art onto the global stage. The time is ripe. The canvas is vast. And we have only just begun to paint.