The four international exhibitions will be exhibited at Manchester Art Gallery (art from India), Oldham Art Gallery (art from Bangladesh), the University Art Gallery Liverpool (art from Sri Lanka) and the Harris Museum & Art Gallery Preston (art from Pakistan). The exhibitions run concurrently from July to September 2002.

International curators will work in partnership with the galleries to select work around a common theme, each taking a personal view and articulating this work from their selected country. The focus will be on artists whose work crosses boundaries between notions of 'traditional' and 'contemporary' artistic practices.

BANGLADESH EXHIBITION
SHIKOR O PHOOL (Roots and Blossom) - Gallery Oldham
9 July - 14 September 2002

Curator: Syed Manzoorul Islam
The first ever opportunity in the UK to see a representative picture of the vibrancy and diversity of contemporary visual art practices from Bangladesh.

This exhibition, curated by Professor S Manzoorul Islam, will represent some of the most exciting recent work created by important and emerging artists from this young and fascinating country.

Many of the artists included in this show use contemporary materials and ideas yet freely draw upon traditional forms dating back many centuries. Manuscript illustration, tapestry, woodwork, mask making and so on blur the traditional boundaries between fine art and folk craft practices, high and low art.

The exhibition will also highlight how young Bangladeshi artists incorporate contemporary issues and political themes into their work. The exhibition features work by eleven artists including: Mahmudhul Haque, Abdus Shakoor, Monsur-ul-Karim, Chandan Shafiqul Kabir, Fareha Zeba, Md. Faruk Ahmad, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, Rokeya Sultana, Shishir Bhattacharjee, Ashok Karmaker and Atia Islam Anne.

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INDIAN EXHIBITION
New Indian Art
Home-Street-Shrine-Bazaar-Museum
Manchester Art Gallery
13 July - 1 September 2002

This exhibition attempts to convey the overwhelming visual intensity of India and show how art thrives in India's galleries, streets and the daily activities of life. The toys, trinkets and utensils for sale at the bazaar, the Bollywood style billboard and the roadside photograph will all be reconsidered as the ingredients for art.

The artists featured in the exhibition are those who have become interested in the folk crafts of India - the work of rural and tribal artists - or the popular artforms such as billboard painting or toymaking. The exhibition argues that the rural, tribal and popular artists should be given the same status and consideration as the artists who have been trained in a traditional art school situation. For many of them it will be the first time that their work has been seen in a gallery.

The exhibition will include Ganga Devi's drawings, which have developed from the Madhubani painting tradition, Anita Dube's large scale wall drawing made entirely from enamel eyes and a new commission by documentary film makers Madhushree Dutta.

Featured artists: Ganga Devi, Atul Dodiya, Anita Dube, Madhushree Dutta, Shilpa Gupta, Subodh Gupta, Sonu Lal Karna and Chakradhar Karna, Pushpamala N, Surendran Nair, Madhvi Parekh, Ram Rahman, Ravinder Reddy, NN Rimzon, Sanatram and Ramji, Nilima Sheikh, Sundaribai, KG Subramanyan.

The exhibition has been curated in collaboration with Professor Gulammohammed Sheikh, curator, artist and art historian based in Baroda, India and Dr Jyotindra Jain, former Director of the Crafts Museum, Delhi.

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PAKISTAN
Threads, Dreams, Desires
Harris Museum & Art Gallery, Preston
11 July - 14 September 2002

Threads, Dreams, Desires has been curated by the Pakistani artist, writer and curator Salima Hashmi.

The exhibition explores the influence of textiles on the work of 8 contemporary artists from Pakistan. Rich and elaborately decorated cloth and costume is a defining characteristic of that culture. Curtains, tents, floor coverings and bedding are intrinsically linked to life cycles of birth and death, as well as rituals and celebrations. The persistence of pattern in these textiles echoes the pattern in every aspect of the visual experience. Garlands, henna, adornments, spangles, trimmings, laces and arabesques each carry meaning and message appropriate to their function.

Work on show will range from jewel-like paintings in the miniature style, to sculpture and site-specific installations, which reach across the gallery space. The artists are each fascinated by different aspects of fabric and textile pattern and this exhibition provides a vehicle for the creation of remarkable new works of a type rarely seen in this country. Artist in residence is Ruby Chisthi.

Threads, Dreams, Desires will be accompanied by a parallel exhibition of Indian Miniature painting from the remarkable collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, curated by the Pakistani artist and curator Quddua Mirza. For the first time in the UK this project will direct comparisons to be drawn between contemporary and historical artworks from the region.

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SRI LANKA
Crafty Thoughts
The University of Liverpool Art Gallery
10 July - 13 September

The University of Liverpool Art Gallery will host Craft Thoughts, the first group exhibition in the UK of work by contemporary Sri Lankan artists. The show has been selected and organised by the independent curator Sharmini Pereira in conjunction with The University of Liverpool Art Collections, and focuses on artists who incorporate notions of craft into their practice.

Through the work of a number of Sri Lankan artists the role of craft is enjoying a critical revival within the wider arts scene. Crafty Thoughts presents a range of works that play off the provocative relationship between high and low art. Together these works begin to introduce an aesthetic space outside the conventional boundaries of fine art and craft wherein innovation thrives and pleasure in materials abounds in suggestive and unexpected ways.

Crafty thoughts will include the following artists: Tissa de Alwis, Barbara Sansoni/Barefoot, Chandragupta Thenuwara, Pradeep Chandrasiri, Sarath Kumarasiri, Bandu Manamperi, Anoli Perera and Jagath Weerasinghe. A wide range of works will be included in the show, ranging from plasticine models and terracotta sculptures to photographs and textile based installations.

Some of the work will also be specially made in response to the University Gallery and its collection. The art and craft theme will be further developed through the installation of the exhibition, which juxtaposes work by Sri Lankan artists alongside the art and craft displays of the University of Liverpool's permanent collection.