Samsul Alam Helal's 'Disappearing Roots' at British Council

To celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, British Council Bangladesh is arranging a solo exhibition titled “Disappearing Roots” by Samsul Alam Helal, from May 18 to May 30 at its Fuller Road premises in Dhaka.

The World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is a United Nations-sanctioned international holiday for the promotion of diversity issues.

The day provides people with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to advance the four goals of the Unesco Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. 

Through sound, photographs, 3D model and video, "Disappearing Roots" focuses on the displacement in the hill tracts of Bangladesh, highlighting the remaining traces of the ancient ways of life and the violence of gentrification. 

Samsul Alam is a freelance visual artist based in Dhaka.

He was also one of the visiting artists in a fellowship program at Harvard University in 2018.

The show will be inaugurated on May 18 by Mohammad Moheuddin, secretary general, Pen International, artist Dhali Al Mamun, and Tanzim Wahab, chief curator of Bengal Foundation.

Samsul Alam, among other renowned personalities working for the cause, will be present at the opening ceremony.