Acknowledgements

Omar Faruque with Prof Lala Rukh Selim in the grounds of the British Council, Dhaka August 2010

The exchange partnership between the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London, UK and Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh has been successful with the cooperation and support of many faculty members, staff and students of the two institutions as well as the British Council and the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh.

Professor Nazrul Islam, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh deserves special thanks for his enthusiasm for Fine Art which made this exchange materialize.The Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University, Professor A. A. M. S. Arefin Siddique has lent the project his whole-hearted support as have the Deans of the Faculty, Professor Rafiqun Nabi, Professor E. H. M. Matlub Ali and Professor Syed Abul Barq Alvi.At Dhaka University in addition to the faculty featured in this publication, Professor Farida Zaman, Professor Jamal Ahmed, Professor Nisar Hossain, Sahid Kazi, and Abdus Sattar Toufiq, Lecturers, Department of Drawing and Painting, Professor Md. Hamiduzzaman Khan, A. A. M. Kaoser Hassan, Assistant Professor, Mukul Kumar Barai, Assistant Professor, Md. Atiqul Islam, Part-time Teacher, Department of Sculpture, Joya Shahrin Huq, Assistant Professor, Asmita Alam Shammy, Lecturer, Department of Printmaking, Kantideb Adhikary, Lecturer, Department of Oriental Art, Masuda Khatun Jui, Lecturer, Department of Art History, Mohammad Subbir-Al Razy, Chinmaye Sikder, Lecturers, Department of Ceramic, Farhana Ferdausi, Lecturer, Department of Crafts have all contributed to the exchange.Harun-Ar-Rashid, Lecturer, Department of Graphic Design deserves special credit for designing all the printed materials for the lectures and workshops held at the Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka.Ashim Kumar Halder, student, MFA, Department of Ceramic, Dhaka University has facilitated the activities of the exchange with his technical support.

At the Slade School of Fine Art many members of staff have contributed to the exchange and welcomed Lala Rukh Selim and her colleagues into seminars, discussions, studio critiques and assessments. These include Dr Sharon Morris, Head of the Doctoral Programme; Dr Amna Malik and Dr Joy Sleeman, History and Theory; David Burrows and Jayne Parker, Fine Art Media; Andrew Stahl and Jo Volley, Painting; Professor Edward Allington, Melanie Jackson and Melanie Counsell, Sculpture. The Bangladeshi icon making workshop at the Slade was supported by a number of staff including John Bremner and Thomas Jenkins, who also documented the process, and James Keith who was responsible for printing photographs of the icons for the exhibition in Dhaka. A very special thank you goes to Slade studio manager Alan Taylor for going to great lengths to source the right materials. The project administration at the Slade has been assisted and supported since 2010 by Lucy Toseland, Jennifer Jennings, Liz Bruchet, and Grace Hailstone.

Most importantly we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the British Council. The project would not have been possible without the British Council INSPIRE (International Strategic Partnerships in Research and Education) programme, and the British Council, Dhaka who have been supportive throughout and played a vital role in the smooth running of the project. Particular thanks go to Omar Faruque, Project Manager, International Higher Education, Mahbubul Haque, project Co-ordinator – Internationalising Higher Education, and Robin Davies, Director of Partnerships and Programmes, British Council, Bangladesh. While it isn’t unusual for cultural exchange to take place, or for artists and educators to spend time in one another’s institutions, the British Council in supporting this project has enabled the difference between a single encounter, exciting and enriching as that is, and establishing a more significant relationship over time. This has allowed for a different, deeper understanding to emerge, one which I believe, despite the very different goals and expectations of the project partners at the outset has led to a very equal and evenly matched exchange of ideas and values.

Inspired! book:
Published by Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London, 2013
Edited by Susan Collins and Lala Rukh Selim
ISBN 978-0-903305-09-9
Design by Martin John Callanan, Slade Press
Printed by Mati ar Manush, 179/3 Fakirapool, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

This blog has been facilitated and managed by Jenny Goh, Slade Web Editor.