From 5–8 February, Safina Radio Project broadcasts conversations and performative pieces by artists, writers and curators at the summit, drawing on their encounters with the city.

Subtitled ‘not as far as it seems,’ Safina Radio Project takes questions of belonging and home as a departure point. Responding to the practices, curatorial premises and work exhibited at the Dhaka Art Summit 2016, SRP explores common grounds within historical contexts, providing a cross-section of origins and their interpretations.

Pre-programmed and commissioned pieces open up a broad cultural context for Dhaka; literature, architecture, art and music content will bring to the fore the rich cultural undercurrents of one of Asia’s most complex cities, drawing listeners closer to Dhaka as a centre for cultural discourse. You will find us by the old bus, outside the Shilpakala Academy. The programme is constantly being updated, check back each day for the confirmed schedule!

PROGRAM:
4 February

2pm Iftikhar Dadi, Zihan Karim, Marzia Farhana and Nada Raza in conversation about The Missing One – ‘Enchantment, alienation and dystopia become the plot for an exhibition curated by Nada Raza, inspired by the title of a Bengali sci-fi story (claimed to be the earliest written) by J.C. Bose in 1896.’

5pm Aurelien Lemonier in conversation with Kashef Chowdhury on architecture in Dhaka, Chowdhury’s work and the architecture exhibition as part of the Dhaka Art Summit 2016.

6pm Mariam Ghani and Chitra Ganesh in conversation with Beth Citron on their work, in particular Index of the Disappeared.

5 February

12 noon Iftikhar Dadi in conversation with Nabil Rahman

2pm In conversation: Christopher Kulendran Thomas

5pm Monica Narula (Raqs Media Collective) in conversation with Maria Balshaw

6 February

10am Amara Antilla leading a conversation on Rewind a group exhibition at the Dhaka Art Summit highlighting 12 artists from across South Asia who were active before the late 1980s. Advised by Sabih Ahmed, Amara Antilla, Diana Campbell Betancourt and Beth Citron the exhibition will illuminate the “alternative universe offered by transnational modernism”, in the words of academic Ifitkhar Dadi.

2pm Aaron Cezar in conversation with the winner of the Samdani Art Award (announced on 5 February)

5pm In conversation: Sharmini Pereira with an artist from the Dhaka Art Summit (tbc)

7 February

10am In conversation: Mark Rappolt with an artist from the Dhaka Art Summit (tbc)

2pm In conversation: Beatrix Ruf with an artist from the Dhaka Art Summit (tbc)

5pm Shanay Jhaveri in conversation with Tony Korner, discussing the Dhaka Art Summit film programme and in particular the documentary on Nirad Chaudhury, made by Merchant Ivory for the BBC in 1970.

8 February

10am Nikhil Chopra and Jana Prepeluh in conversation with some of the artists invited to be part of the Performance Pavilion: Atish Saha, Yasmin Nupur, Sajan Mani and Manmeet Devgun

5pm Waqas Khan in conversation with Rosa Martinez

In addition, you can tune in to listen to the following programming:

3 February
Introduction to the Critical Writing Ensemble – readings can be found here
Lynda Benglis in conversation with Thomas Tavelli – recorded from Santa Fe

4 February
The History of Cross-Cultural Exchange between Bangladesh and Pakistan, panel talk
Art Initiatives off the Centre, panel talk

5 February
Non-Western Institutions and their Collecting of South Asian Art

6 February
Dayanita Singh in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist
Bangladeshi Architecture Panel