26 Feb Peer learning workshop and brainstorming session

The Peer Learning Workshop marked the conceptual beginning of “Unlearning the Book” project. Bringing together 27 multidisciplinary Bangladeshi artists from diverse backgrounds and practices, the session became a shared space to question, dismantle, and rethink the conventional idea of the book. Rather than approaching the project with fixed outcomes, the workshop centered on dialogue, collective reflection, and material exploration.

Through brainstorming, curatorial guidance and open discussions, participants revisited the ancient histories of the book from scrolls and palm-leaf manuscripts to oral storytelling traditions and textile practices such as kalamkari, natural die etc. Conversations unfolded around material memory, tactility, and the politics of form: Why is the book bound? Who defines its structure? What happens when pages are replaced with fabric, thread, or fold? Was book always the way we see it now?

Hands-on sharing sessions introduced techniques such as textile layering, stitch-based narration, cyanotype experimentation, and alternative creative methods. Artists presented initial story ideas and exchanged feedback, allowing individual concepts to grow through collective insight.

The workshop did not aim to provide answers but to create a foundation for inquiry. It established a collaborative atmosphere where experimentation was encouraged and uncertainty was accepted, shaping the first layer of outcomes that will form an innovative exhibition.

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