Untold Story exhibition unveiled at Alliance Française de Dhaka

 Alliance Française de Dhaka has opened Untold Story, a group exhibition exploring memory, identity, heritage and other intimate experiences that often remain beyond words.

Curated by Fareha Zeba, the exhibition was inaugurated on Tuesday at La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka. Frédéric Inza, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of France in Bangladesh, and Tanvir Ahmed, Managing Director of Sheltech Group and Envoy Legacy, attended the inauguration as Guests of Honour.

The exhibition brings together artist books and contemporary artworks created through painting, drawing, collage, stitching, textiles, found materials and experimental book forms. Collectively, the works examine themes including memory, loss, longing, identity, heritage and lived experience.

At the centre of Untold Story is the artist’s book, which the exhibition presents not simply as a literary object but as a medium for personal and artistic expression. The participating artists use the form to preserve fragments of memory, revisit personal and cultural histories, and explore experiences that may be difficult to articulate through conventional language.

The exhibition also extends beyond the pages of the artist’s books. Related artworks bring these personal narratives into the gallery, creating a space where individual memories and experiences can intersect with broader collective realities.

The exhibition features seven group artists—Esha Ahmed, Fouzia Mahin Choudhury, Kazmin Samia, Shulekha Chaudhury, Sumana Akter and Surovi Akter—alongside guest artists Alia Kamal, Arpita Singha, Mahmuda Siddika, Rafia Mahjabeen, Rituparna Saha and Venessa Kaiser.

The group artists have developed their exploration of the theme over the past year through the artist’s-book format, while the guest artists have responded to the theme over a shorter period. Their varied approaches highlight the different ways memory and lived experience can be documented, reinterpreted and communicated through art.

Rather than presenting a single narrative, Untold Story brings together fragmented perspectives and examines the space between what is revealed and what remains unspoken. The exhibition suggests that deeply personal stories can also reflect experiences shared by wider communities.

Through its combination of artist books and contemporary works, the exhibition invites viewers to consider how memory is preserved, how identity is constructed and how experiences that resist language can nevertheless find expression through visual and material forms.

Untold Story will remain on view at La Galerie until September 9. The exhibition is open to the public daily from 3:00pm to 9:00pm.