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Bangladeshi artist and educator Bishwajit Goswami has been featured at the inaugural edition of Conductor Art Fair, held at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, New York, marking another significant international presence for Bangladesh’s contemporary art scene.
The fair, which brings together artists, galleries, and special projects from different parts of the world, focuses on voices from the “global majority” and Indigenous communities. Goswami’s work was presented as part of the fair’s special projects, represented by Brihatta Art Foundation, the Dhaka-based research-oriented arts platform he co-founded.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. At the fair, Goswami presented “Baithak”, a 2025 work made with scraps of leather and Murta plant strips. The piece reflects his continuing engagement with material, memory, ecology, and the social histories embedded within everyday objects. Known for moving across painting, installation, performance, and conceptual practice, Goswami has long explored the relationship between people, place, language, homeland, and nature through his artistic vocabulary.
A faculty member at the Department of Drawing and Painting, Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka, Goswami has participated in several major international art platforms over the years. His works have previously been shown at the Dhaka Art Summit, Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh, Beijing International Art Biennale, Kunming Art Biennale, Setouchi Triennale in Japan, and other exhibitions across Asia and Europe.
His official portfolio also highlights a body of work shaped by recurring ideas such as “Ma” or mother, “Mati” or earth, “Manush” or people, “Bhasha” or language, “Swadesh” or homeland, and “Prokriti” or nature. These concepts have remained central to both his individual practice and the broader vision of Brihatta Art Foundation.
Conductor Art Fair has been designed as an alternative platform for artists and galleries who may not always find access to the traditional New York art market. By placing South Asian, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, Latin American, African, and diasporic artistic practices within the same international conversation, the fair offers a wider view of contemporary art beyond established Western centres.
Goswami’s inclusion in the fair is also significant at a time when Bangladeshi artists are increasingly being recognised in global exhibitions, biennales, residencies, and institutional programmes. His presentation in Brooklyn not only introduces his practice to new audiences but also reinforces the growing relevance of Bangladesh’s contemporary art movement on the international stage.
Through works rooted in local material culture and collective memory, Goswami continues to carry Bangladeshi narratives into global spaces, expanding how the country’s art is seen, read, and understood beyond its borders.
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