03 Mar Unlearning the Book

Unlearning the Book is a process-driven, interdisciplinary project that Reimagining “Book / বই” through Textile, Story, and Living Archives

The word book and the Bengali বই(boi) both originate from material histories such as trees, bark, leaves and fabric, long before they became standardized printed objects. Historically, books were not only read; they were touched, recited, worn, passed on, and lived with. In Bengali culture especially, বই (Boi) and পুঁথি (Puthi) existed at the intersection of storytelling, ritual, memory, and material practice. In the contemporary moment, however, the book has become a fixed, institutional object, paper-bound, linear, and distanced from the body.

This project proposes to unlearn the modern idea of the book and return to its deeper essence: a container of stories, cultural memory, and lived experience. Through upcycled textile-based bookmaking, oral storytelling, and collective creation, ‘Unlearning the Book’ explores how stories of heritage, cultural memory, and personal history can be preserved and reimagined beyond conventional formats.

Textile becomes both surface and language, while storytelling reconnects books to voice, gesture, and community. The project does not aim to reproduce historical পুঁথি (Puthi-manuscripts), but to translate its spirit into contemporary practice, creating experimental books that are creative, tactile, performative, and experiential.

This project is supported by Alliance Française Dhaka, organized in collaboration with Uronto Artist Community and Art Initiative Bangladesh.
Project curators: Fareha Zeba and Sadya Mizan.

Participating artists:

Abrar Shadman Ahsana Angona Alia Kamal Esha Ahmed Faiza Fairooz Farah Naz Moon Farhana Ferdausi  Fouzia Mahin Chowdhury Hridita Anisha Jayatu Chakma Jinnatun Jannat Kazmin Samia Lekh Nesa Khatun Mahadi Masud Mahmuda Siddika Marzia Bentee Rahman Nazm Anwr Nazmul Hossen Nayon Nodi Judith Gomes Nur A Alaa Siddique Papia Sarwar Rafia Mahjabeen Rituparna Saha Rokeya Sultana Tahmina Hafiz Lisa Toufikul Islam  Venessa Kaiser

Segments of the Project

We have multidisciplinary Bangladeshi artists from diverse backgrounds, practices, locations and identities, selected from an open call of the project.

This project grows from peer learning, collective reflection, and the desire to rethink what a book can be. Each artist brings a unique voice, material language, and personal narrations to this journey.