Elsa Åkesson in Conversation with Nadia Samdani
Nadia Samdani.
Nadia Samdani is a philanthropist, art collector and businesswoman who founded the Samdani Art Foundation in Bangladesh, operating on a new model to help support the local art scene and make art accessible to all. An inspirational woman with a visionary mindset, Samdani helps bring international recognition to the local art scene.
MADE IN BED’s Editor-in-Chief, Elsa Åkesson, had the pleasure to speak to Nadia about her philanthropic projects, her art collecting and all other inspirational visions for the Bangladeshi cultural world.
Samdani Art Collection.
Elsa Åkesson: Nadia, thank you very much for being amongst us today. I have to start by asking you, how did your interest in art collecting begin?
Nadia Samdani: My family has collected for years, so I grew up in an environment where I was very aware of what was happening in the art world. This then influenced me to get into art collecting myself. I later met my husband and we started travelling to international art fairs, discovering the amazing world of contemporary life and art. We realised it was a real interest of ours to start collecting.
EÅ: What was the first artwork you ever bought?
NS: The first artwork I ever bought was by a Bangladeshi Modernist called S. M. Sultan . It is a watercolour painting that I still have today. We actually have every single artwork we ever bought; we never sold a piece. Every time we acquire a new work, we love it so much that we never want to get rid of it because it is a passion.
EÅ: Does your art collection consist of a recurring theme?
NS: I wouldn’t say [the collection has] a recurring theme necessarily. We divided our collection into two separate collections: one is for our art foundation, the other is our private collection.
For the art foundation, we try to collect works that hold historical value to Bangladesh and to create a collection that will hold significant importance for the new generations to come. We collect works from before the 70s, which are very difficult to find - we sometimes will buy them from old private collections or auction sales at Christies or Sotheby’s.
Then we also collect works by contemporary artists and modernist artists. My collection is just my journey, where I collect what I like with time. Our collection is exhibited in a curated way, so it tells a story.
Samdani Art Foundation.
EÅ: How did the idea of creating an art foundation first come about?
NS: Bangladesh did not have an art scene that was recognised internationally when we thought of the idea. When my husband and I travelled internationally to visit art fairs and museums, we realised there was no presence of Bangladeshi art. It took us by surprise and bothered us - we asked ourselves how that could even be possible knowing we have brilliant artists in Bangladesh.
The problem comes from a lack of infrastructure, as well as from the fact that [Bangladesh] did not have contemporary museums or a local commercial gallery scene. There are, however, a lot of local artists working independently there, so the idea of creating an art foundation came about when we asked ourselves what we could do to connect artists to people, creating something meaningful that would help the community. Moreover, we thought of what we could do to bridge the gap between the local art scene of Bangladesh and the international art world. With this in mind, we created the Samdani Art Foundation, which first opened 10 years ago.
EÅ: What are some of the current projects your foundation is working on?
NS: We are currently building an art centre and a sculpture park in Sylhet, which is in the Northeastern part of Bangladesh. It is in the process of being built, measuring approximately 105 acres in size. At the Srihatta: Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park, we invite artists to work on projects, as well as offer residencies. The sculpture park is also intended to expose our institutional-sized sculptures.
We collect many institutional-sized works that simply cannot be placed in a home due to their magnitude, so the sculpture park offers them a home while simultaneously making the space a free destination for the community. All our projects are made for the community, therefore they are free to the public.
Samdani Art Foundation.
EÅ: What type of opportunities did you encounter by having an art foundation?
NS: Our foundation and art projects are all not-for-profit - it is not a business - so I wouldn’t say ‘opportunity’ is the word. It is more about what brings me happiness, such as when I can observe the results of our projects to support local artists. For example, when one of our artists now exhibits in museums as a result of working through the foundation - just being able to be a little part of their journey brings us so much pleasure.
EÅ: What were some of the challenges you encountered when opening the art foundation?
NS: When you come from a country where there is hardly any infrastructure and not much going on in the arts, it is not easy in the beginning. There were challenges because it was a new idea, we were creating a new model. No other institution or museum similar to what we wanted to open existed, but we thought, ‘Let’s just try it and see what happens. If it doesn’t work out, we have nothing to lose’. When you are beginning a new project, you are at 0. You cannot go below 0, so we thought we should experiment, invite some friends and if it doesn’t work, we can still have a good time with our friends. All of our friends came, supported us and it turned out to be a success - so the foundation then grew from there.
Samdani Art Collection.
EÅ: Could you tell us what the original vision was when you decided to create a public collection?
NS: Our main vision was to offer an art space and program that everyone could have access to, whether you understand art or not. We wanted to create a very inclusive project for the community. We did not want to impose any boundaries. Instead, we wanted to be a place where people could appreciate art and not feel intimidated to go and see it.
We therefore do not have any hierarchy in terms of events, such as a VIP list or private viewings. In our foundation, everyone is equal and everyone has the same type of access to everything related to the foundation, including events and shows.
Samdani Art Foundation.
EÅ: Could you give us some examples of the types of events you organise for the foundation?
NS: The foundation operates on a new model. We welcome guest speakers from around the world, such as speakers from Harvard. We offer workshops, we hold performances, we have screenings, we have photography, architecture, design - we try to combine everything under one roof. We give opportunities to the local community of Bangladesh that it wouldn’t necessarily have otherwise. We also produce a bi-annual event known as the Dhaka Art Summit, and which 2018, has gained its reputation of being the highest-visited art event in the world. This is a platform where we bring together artists, art historians, curators, architects, artist collectives, art educators and a huge number of art enthusiasts.
EÅ: What are some of the future visions you have for the foundation?
NS: We would like to continue being a platform for artist-lead initiatives and researchers. We also hope to discover more new generation artists.
Right now, the focus is on our Srihatta: Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park in Sylhet. When that opens, we definitely aim to be an international destination.
Samdani Art Collection.
EÅ: To young art collectors looking to build a strong collection, what would be your advice?
NS: I would say you must first start by going and seeing as much art as possible in galleries, museums, fairs and biennales. Remember, though, to see what you like and not what you think you need to buy and own. Once you start understanding your preferences, then you should always buy what you love because that is the only way you will be able to fully appreciate your collection.
EÅ: To young collectors looking to open a private museum, what would be your advice?
NS: I would say ‘museum’ is a very big word. Take as an example my foundation. We call it an ‘art centre’ because a museum can have a lot of rules and regulations involved, whereas an art centre can be anything. ‘Museum’, I would say, is more for the Western world and can be highly correlated with history. Be open to creating a new type of model and do not be afraid to move away from the traditional model of a museum.
Thank you very much for your time, Nadia.
Please visit the Foundation’s website, Instagram and Facebook to discover more about their work.
Elsa Åkesson,
Editor-In-Chief, MADE IN BED