Published : 30 Sep 2026, 10:34 PM
Updated : 30 Sep 2026, 10:34 PM
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has partnered with the Samdani Art Foundation to spotlight Bangladeshi art and expand its collection of contemporary work from the country, according to the BBC.
The project has been described by the Ashmolean as the first “sustained initiative” at a major museum anywhere in the world to support Bangladeshi artists.
Under the scheme, a visiting artist will be invited to Oxford each year, while a dedicated collection of contemporary Bangladeshi art will also be developed.
Munem Wasif, the first artist selected for the programme, arrived in Oxford from Dhaka earlier this month. Much of his previous work has “returned to the colonial history” of Bengal, the region now divided between Bangladesh and India.
Wasif said his time at the Ashmolean “gives me a chance to look at this history more closely, through the Museum's collections and archives”, mentioned in the report.
“I'm interested in encountering objects and artworks firsthand, and seeing how they might connect with questions I have been exploring through photography, prints, and textiles,” he added.
The BBC noted that the Ashmolean, which opened in 1683, was the world's first free public museum. The institution holds collections from across South Asia and will now develop its representation of contemporary Bangladeshi art.
Mallica Kumbera Landrus, the museum's curator of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian art, said she was “thrilled” about the partnership.
“The Museum has remarkable collections from across South Asia, and this partnership gives us an exciting opportunity to develop that story through contemporary Bangladeshi art and artists,” she said, cited per the BBC.
Founded in 2011, the Samdani Art Foundation works to promote Bangladeshi culture, with co-founder and president Nadia Samdani calling the partnership a “natural extension” of its vision to “create lasting cultural bridges between Bangladesh and the world”.
“We are proud to see this vision take shape at a world-leading institution, and deeply grateful to the Ashmolean for joining us in making it possible,” Samdani added.
