মুক্তি / Mukti - Freedom to Express 2021

Although the leather industry of Bangladesh is an important driving force of our economic growth, it has now been shifted away from the central city of Dhaka to Hemayetpur in Savar due to pollution. The Buriganga River and the Hazaribagh area are finally free from the clutches of decades of pollution. Home to the tannery arts and leather industry for 71 years, Hazaribagh is now undergoing a new era of being reimagined and restructured. Tanneries in the everchanging, historic Dhaka city's Hazaribagh neighbourhood are now abandoned lifeless structures. The daily hubbub of the workers has come to a standstill, everyone rushing to settle elsewhere. The novel experience of this ongoing pandemic has only added to that. Despite this upheaval and through this turbulence, in 2021, Brihatta Art Foundation started its journey at 'Mukti Tannery - 1'.

At this time of stasis, the “Find...Create...Express” initiative was organised in an effort to breathe life back into the polluted environment of this tannery region. In this former tannery district along the riverbanks, combining art and artistry, the artists explored the elements with their minds' eyes. Stories left behind in this region of the river basin have lighted the artists' paths in this project, allowing them to explore new forms for renewed hope. Being left behind does not mean abandoned and it's as if the elements lay scattered filled with this desire to be picked up again. Processed or leftover hides, various tools and materials for preparing hides, the spaces used for preparations, the local marketplace for buying and selling raw hides, the people from all walks of life involved in the tannery arts economy and their experiences as they had to migrate; all this inspired the artists to create for this project.

Gathering on the open roof-top courtyard at Brihatta's new space, with a language garden encased in foliage, with fruit, flowering, medicinal plants, and a vegetable garden, these artists sparked new narratives, telling stories, sharing tales, trading moments amongst themselves, weaving a web of new connections at the Mukti Tannery. The flow of life in art and creative thinking also involves discovering a new form. And at the edge of this busy city where Brihatta brings together art and artistry, perhaps one day this space will be bustling, resonating with the sounds of the mighty Buriganga's currents, invigorating the people once again.

Bishwajit Goswami
Curator

Grantees were selected through an open call to create sculptural objects and tapestries with materials found around the tannery district in Hazaribagh.

Let’s Play Together (2021)

As part of the মুক্তি / Mukti Project, Brihatta Art Foundation hosted its first children’s art programme, Let’s Play Together, on the rooftop of Mukti Tannery-1 in Hazaribagh. Held on September 10–11, 2021, the event brought local children—many painting for the first time—into a collaborative workshop where they created large-scale works in the traditional “pot” style of Bengal.

Conducted by Trustees Tania Sultana and Mong Mong Sho, the programme built connections with the community through its youngest members, transforming an abandoned tannery into a space of creativity, joy, and dialogue. Let’s Play Together became a cornerstone of Brihatta’s Mukti Project, reflecting our belief in art’s power to nurture growth and open new possibilities.

Find... Create... Express…(2021)

For over seven decades, Hazaribagh was the beating heart of Bangladesh’s leather industry. Once a hub of tannery arts and livelihoods, the area became synonymous with pollution and decay. When the industry shifted to Hemayetpur in Savar, the Buriganga River and Hazaribagh finally began to recover after decades of environmental strain. What remains are abandoned tannery buildings—silent, lifeless structures that once buzzed with the rhythm of thousands of workers.

Amid this transition, compounded by the stillness of the pandemic, Brihatta Art Foundation launched the Mukti Project in 2021 at Mukti Tannery 1. The project was born out of a desire to breathe new life into this once-polluted space, to reimagine its history and possibilities through art.

Within this framework, artists turned to the traces left behind—discarded hides, tools, workshops, marketplaces, and the stories of workers forced to migrate elsewhere. These fragments became catalysts for creation, inspiring new narratives of resilience, renewal, and hope.

At Brihatta’s rooftop courtyard, transformed into a language garden of fruit trees, medicinal plants, and flowering greenery, artists gathered to share tales, exchange ideas, and weave connections.

Out of abandonment emerged possibility; out of silence, a new dialogue of creativity.

খুঁজিয়া দেখো তাই...!!! (Find... Create... Express…) reclaims the memory of Hazaribagh’s tannery district, transforming it from a place of pollution into a living space for art, storytelling, and community.