Bangladeshi art shines at Korea’s Haegeumgang Theme Museum for Geoje Int’l Art Festival

In a celebration of artistic diversity and cultural dialogue, artworks by 11 prominent Bangladeshi artists have been selected for permanent display at the Haegeumgang Theme Museum in South Korea as part of the 10th Geoje International Art Festival. 
Titled “Language of Coexistence,” the festival is centred around art’s capacity to bridge cultural and linguistic divides, creating a universal platform for connection and understanding. The festival opens in Busan, South Korea, on November 6, drawing in artists, curators, and museum directors from around the world.
For the first time, the selection process for the museum’s collection was conducted entirely through a virtual jury, with 341 artists from 56 countries submitting their work. Of the 273 selected pieces, 18 were chosen for the festival’s Excellence Award, including works by three Bangladeshi artists—Abu Kalam Shamsuddin, Sourav Chowdhury, and Azmeer Hossain. 
Joining them in the museum’s permanent collection are pieces by other renowned Bangladeshi artists, including Rokeya Sultana, Vinita Karim, Anukul Mojumder, Ratnashwar Sutradhar, Tahmina Hafiz Lisa, Mahadi Masud, Asma Akbar, and Nazia Andaleeb Preema. 
Preema, who serves as the juror and curator for Bangladesh, remarked, “Coexistence is the only way to exist,” underscoring the festival’s commitment to global unity through art. Heidi Fosli leads the international jury as the president.
An artistic exploration of belonging and displacement in Dublin
Meanwhile, Nazia Andaleeb Preema has also been featured in the “Re-rooting Tallaght Performance Art Festival” in Dublin, Ireland. 
Her performance, “Luncheon in the Graveyard,” delves into themes of impermanence, identity, and cultural intersections. Set in the historical St Maelruain’s graveyard, Preema’s work uses physical gestures and spoken word to reflect on the transient nature of life, juxtaposed against the permanence of grave markers and memories. 
Drawing from the atmosphere of the graveyard, she speaks to the spiritual isolation and historical ties between Asian and European narratives.
Describing her experience, Preema explained, “My performance was an invitation to relate the morbid quiet of a graveyard with the lively presence of a human body, bridging the cultures I carry within.” Artist Paul Murnaghan captured the essence of her piece, saying, “She dances slowly, caressing the ancient trees, singing a melody that drifts in the wind. It’s a contemplative tribute to life’s impermanence.”
Other artists at the festival, including Venus Patel, Wioletta Ratajczak, and Fergus Byrne, explored themes of cultural displacement and belonging through a wide array of performance styles. 
From Patel’s reflections on a changing Dublin to Byrne’s poetic narratives on identity, the event highlighted how performance art can serve as both a personal and collective exploration of place and heritage.