Cultural festival celebrates Bengali artists

Events will take place to spotlight Bengali talents from across the West Midlands

An arts and cultural festival celebrating Bengali artists is taking place in Birmingham.

A series of events are being held between 16-23 November for Bangla Week 2024.

The festival, organised by Bangladeshi Artist Development Agency (BADA), will feature exhibitions at Birmingham Hippodrome, Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Aftab Rahman, founder of BADA, said he hoped the event would spark enough interest for a nationwide Bangla Week to take place next year.

Opening night

The first exhibition spotlighting Bangladeshi talent begins on Saturday at 18:00 GMT at the Hippodrome.

The theatre production, called Wish Wash Time Machine, explores connections between Birmingham’s South Asian diaspora communities by sharing migration stories.

Starring 18 young people from north-east Birmingham, director Fateha Begum said the performance brought together young people of all backgrounds.

She said: "This is the culmination of hard work over five months. For some, it will be their first time performing or even watching a show at Birmingham Hippodrome."

A mime show called Anil Kaka will also be on offer, followed by traditional kathak dance performance by dancer and choreographer Atreyee Bhattacharyya.

The audience can also listen to traditional Bengali vocals with a performance of Adhunik Bangla gaan, by Torit Das.

Art exhibition

A collection of artwork by graphic designer Ruhul Islam will be on display at Soho House Museum from Saturday between 12:00 and 17:00.

The exhibition will be open until 23 November and is free to the public.

Tiger by Ruhul Islam will be on display at the exhibition from Saturday

Speaking about the exhibitions, Mr Rahman said: "The event will support and profile Bangladeshi artists in the region, and we hope it might be the catalyst for a nationwide Bangla Week UK to take place next year."

Embroidery storytelling

The Our Stories Through Nakshi Kantha exhibition tells stories of women's journeys from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India to Birmingham.

They are captured through drama, sketching and Nakshi Kantha embroidery - which is a centuries old embroidery art form notable to Bangladesh and West Bengal.

This will be available at the Midlands Art Centre between 10:00 and 17:00 on Thursday.

Stories will be told through Nakshi Kantha embroidery - which is a centuries old embroidery heritage art form notable to Bangladesh

Poetry after chai

This exhibition promises a cup of traditional masala chai - a spiced tea popular in South Asia - along with a night of poetry.

It will be held at the MAC from 18:00 until 20:30 on Thursday.

Poets inspired by Bengali artists and culture will take the mic, which is open to spoken word artists.

Spoken word artists will be invited to come and perform on stage

Closing night concert

The festival will end on 23 November with a concert held at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

British Bengali musician Tara Lily will perform jazz and Bangla music in collaboration with members of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

The night will be hosted by comedian and BBC Asian Network presenter Smash Bengali, with a performance by Bangla musician Junayed Andrew.

British Bengali jazz musician Tara Lily will perform at the closing night concert