A high-level consultation on the ‘Inclusive Arts: Exploring Disability Arts in Bangladesh’ was held on the 11 and 12 December 2019 in Dhaka. The event was hosted by the British Council in partnership with Dhaka Theatre and the Institute of Informatics and Development (IID).
This meeting brought together relevant stakeholders from the disability and arts sectors to create a contextual platform, that can be utilised to dispel the social stigma associated with disability, and build an accessible bridge between the arts, disability, and society.
On 11 December 2019, there were discussions and brainstorming sessions around the status quo of the arts sector, disability sector and disability arts sector of Bangladesh. After a day’s worth of brainstorming sessions and discussions, on 12 December 2019, we had a presentation of our findings from the previous day and proceed with a policy discussion on the future of the disability arts sector in Bangladesh. These sessions helped to contribute to the British Council’s plans for disability arts work seeking to integrate the often-overlooked artists with disabilities, explore their artistic abilities, and tap into an unexplored arts sector of our country.
The objective of this consultation was to explore the challenges and opportunities of disability arts in Bangladesh as a part of the British Council’s recently concluded initiative Disability Arts: Redefining Empowerment (DARE).