‘Bridging Horizons’ brings Bangladesh and Singapore together through art

From koi fish gliding through pale blue water to boats, birds, rural landscapes and densely layered visions of contemporary life, the walls of La Galerie currently carry stories shaped in two different countries.

“Bridging Horizons: A Visual Dialogue of Nature, Heritage and Innovation”, a Singapore-Bangladesh painting exhibition, opened at Alliance Française de Dhaka in Dhanmondi on Friday (August 14), bringing together established and emerging artistic voices from both countries.

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Photo: Abrar Faiyaz Niloy

Presented by the High Commission of the Republic of Singapore in Dhaka in association with Alliance Française de Dhaka, the exhibition has been organised as part of an artistic exchange between Bangladesh and Singapore. Curated by Harun ar Rashid Tutul, it features works from Singapore alongside paintings by 14 established Bangladeshi artists and six emerging Bangladeshi artists selected through a national open call.

Among the participating young artists is Anindya Nahar Habib, whose inclusion places her alongside a wider group of emerging practitioners within an exhibition that deliberately brings different generations of artists into the same space.

The exhibition moves through a broad range of visual languages. Works visible across the gallery shift from delicate washes of watercolour and restrained landscapes to densely composed paintings filled with figures, animals, architecture and patterns. Elsewhere, boats appear repeatedly—sometimes against quiet riverbanks and at other times within busier, almost fragmented compositions.

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Photo: Abrar Faiyaz Niloy

Nature is similarly present in different forms. One work depicts a school of brightly coloured fish suspended against cool blue tones, while another places a pair of birds amid pale blossoms. Other paintings turn towards built environments, riverine life and the textures of rural Bangladesh.

These differences are central to the exhibition's premise. Rather than presenting a single visual identity for either country, “Bridging Horizons” brings together works concerned with nature, heritage, innovation and cultural identity, allowing contrasting techniques and perspectives to occupy the gallery side by side.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mitchel Lee, chargé d'affaires of the High Commission of the Republic of Singapore in Dhaka, while eminent artist and University of Dhaka Professor Emeritus Rafiqun Nabi attended as guest of honour. Professor Dr Md Azharul Islam Sheikh, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka, and François Chambraud, director of Alliance Française de Dhaka, were also listed among the special guests.

The exhibition also coincides with celebrations surrounding Singapore's 61st National Day, with the organisers positioning the project within the broader cultural relationship between the two countries.

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Photo: Abrar Faiyaz Niloy

What emerges across the gallery is less a comparison between two national traditions than a meeting point. Landscapes sit beside abstraction, traditional motifs appear alongside contemporary compositions, and the works of established artists share the walls with those of a younger generation.

For artists such as Anindya, that arrangement also places emerging practices within a larger conversation—one that stretches across generations as much as it does across geographical borders.

“Bridging Horizons” will remain open at La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka, until August 19. Visitors can attend the exhibition daily from 3:00pm to 9:00pm.