Contemporary Art and World Civilization

The Department of Contemporary Art and World Civilization was established on 27 December 1975. It is one of the four Curatorial Departments of Bangladesh National Museum. The purpose of this Department is twofold: (1) representation of the contemporary art of Bangladesh through modern paintings, sculptures and tapestries; (2) display of objects from different counties for a glimpse of world civilization. The Department collects art works of nationally recognized young and old artists. Of particular interest are the paintings of such master artists as Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hasan and S. M. Sultan. One gallery is devoted to Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin. As the contemporary art of Bangladesh has been endowed with various trends of artistic expression through the aesthetic and innovative endeavor of a large number of artists and sculptors, one main responsibility of this Department is to evaluate creative trends and schools of art. As for world civilization, it is designed to represent different countries of the world. So far original objects from Bhutan, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Maldives, Nepal, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA have been collected and displayed. Reproductions of such paintings as are counted among the world's treasures and portraits of great men and women of the world have also been displayed to enrich the Section on world civilization. The Department of Contemporary Art and World Civilization has seven galleries. Chinese, Iranian, Korean and Switzerland corners have been established in Gallery No. 44. In addition to collecting, preserving and documenting objects, the Department of Contemporary Art and World Civilization holds lectures, seminars and symposia, arranges exhibitions, and publishes catalogues and folders. More importantly, it plays a leading role in the Biennial Asian Art Exhibition and contributes to the enrichment of contemporary art abroad.