Villa Swagatam

This residency and the exhibition it culminates to were made possible thanks to an amazing partnership between Villa Swagatam, the French Institute, the Alliance Française in Dhaka, and the Brihatta Art Foundation.

I am incredibly grateful for the unforgettable three months filled with discovery, connection, and creativity. My time here has transformed not just my art but also me, grounding my passion for creation and sharing. A huge thank you to François and Mamun for their unwavering support and warmth throughout this journey.

Brihatta Art Foundation provided a vibrant space for my work to flourish, and brought together precious individuals who gave my life in Dhaka a sense of daily life, showed me their city, their culture, their country, and offered me their friendship—thank you, Shahadat, Vabi, Bibha, Shada, Achol, Anas, Tirtha, Niloy, Arko, Mukter & Arup. Thank you to Bishwajit, Nusrat, and Parvez for the trust and freedom you granted me regarding my production.

Thanks to the printmaking department of the University of Dhaka, which, from the very beginning of my arrival, included me in a family that shares the same passion; that of printmaking. To the students who participated in my adventure and exploration in this new unknown by showing me what is part of their identity.

A special thank you to Asmita and Bashir, a relationship that started with a shared passion and exchange and, after many laughs, transformed into a beautiful friendship. This exhibition wouldn't have happened without the incredible support from Naeem, Tajariba, and Fahim, three true gems of the printmaking department, who stood by me in my creative and ambitious journey.

Thank you to everyone who made me feel at home, turning the word 'friendship' into something truly special. You made leaving this residency, this city, and this country a real challenge. Thank you Alvee, Nova, Tasnim, and Rumky—for being uniquely you.

Finally, I dedicate this exhibition to all those who have the courage to love a world in decline.

Julia Lebrao Sendra
Artist, Printmaker

As winter settled over Dhaka on a mid-November day, my heart yearned to meet some good old friends. Dhaka is a gargantuan metropolis by any measure—congested, smog-filled, yet bustling with life. People are always busy in pursuit of something elusive. But if you're lucky, as I was, you can start your day slowly and catch a brief moment of calm.

Although my visit to Bangladesh was primarily to begin collecting data for my doctoral research, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit Brihatta. It is a unique space very close to my heart that emerged from a conservation project, offering a rare glimpse of green in the heart of a city that often makes us feel disconnected from nature. This space is a testament to what can be achieved through artistic intervention when a dedicated team comes together to breathe life back into a postindustrial structure—an extraordinary undertaking in an urban context.

Stepping into Brihatta is always a warm experience, but that day felt even more welcoming when we were served a hearty lunch made with Brihatta's own organic produce.

In the midst of good food and adda with familiar faces, I met Julia—the new resident artist at Brihatta. I noticed Julia immersed in her work, wearing a vibrant red kurta as she calmly sketched what she called "doodles" on a wooden panel. She fit in effortlessly, as though she were a natural inhabitant of the space. When we spoke, I gained insight into her ideas and how she channels them into her artistic practices. Julia, originally from France, was selected out of fifty-one applicants for a three-month residency at Brihatta.

Her core idea stems from the philosophical connection between change and touch, inspired by Octavia E. Butler's quote: "What you touch, you change. What you change, changes you." This concept influenced her artistic process during the residency, where she explores how. touch-both physical and metaphorical-transforms not only the artist and their creations, but also the environment and the audience. The quote originates from a post-apocalyptic narrative about a young girl who, despite growing up in chaos, envisions a way to rebuild human connections and harmony. Julia finds a parallel between this story and her own creative journey, emphasizing the interconnectedness of actions and their effects on personal growth and surroundings.

Her work speaks of mutual transformation-how human actions shape the environment, and in turn, how the environment reshapes individuals. This reflective and layered approach underpins her creative vision, tying together themes of connection, responsibility, and the profound ripple effects of seemingly simple gestures.

She takes this complex philosophical idea into her art and inscribes the quote in Bangla on a lungi (a traditional garment), emphasizing the cultural and personal significance of the concept of sparsho (touch). She values the interpretive freedom the quote offers, likening it to the opening of a book that allows viewers to experience the art without preconceived notions.

[I] could sense the organic inspiration in her soap carvings-particularly a waterlily, meticulously shaped yet still retaining a raw quality that connected with her other pieces. The tactile nature of her work drew you in-every touch felt like an intimate, sensory experience. During her residency, she translated her observations into visual and literary forms. Her poems, like her artwork, expressed a constantly evolving relationship between nature and humanity. One line about the nearby river, our Buriganga, especially moved me: "In all of her pain, she screams, yet we do not hear her cry."

In turn, contemplating her ideas of interconnected changes brings me back to Brihatta's own story. Once an abandoned rooftop in a tannery district, Brihatta transformed the space into a vibrant hub for art and environmental stewardship. Brihatta's projects embody the multifaceted nature of change, both environmental and psychological. Brihatta's Mukti exhibition examined themes of freedom and transformation. The Home Art Project reflected on the difficult but essential changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, Gongaburi explores the shifting landscape surrounding the Buriganga River and its impact on the local community.

It was predestined that Julia would join Brihatta's continuous experimentation with the concept of change, both as an idea and as a lived experience. The space, its ethos, and the community had already begun to shape her artistic journey. In turn, her work would leave its mark on Brihatta. This is how change unfolds-quietly yet powerfully, shifting, reworking, and renaming itself in infinite ways.

Humaira Hossain
PhD researcher and instructor
University of Illinois Chicago, USA