Conceived in January 2023, BADA is the result of a collaborative effort between Legacy West Midlands, local Bangladeshi artists, cultural organisations, and partners. Our mission is to collectively support the burgeoning Bangladeshi artist community and engage broader audiences.
Last year, we proudly launched the first ever Bangla Week 2024, showcasing a diverse range of activities from family arts days, open poetry mic night, dancing, acting as well as art exhibitions, marking a historic moment for Bangladeshi heritage in the UK.
Now, we look ahead to an exhilarating new chapter, Bangla Month 2025 where artists and creatives will be among the first to discover BADA’s exciting plans.
If you are an artist looking to have their work featured please contact junna@legacy-wm.org for more details.
Congratulations to our BADA Creative Commission Winners!
A huge congratulations to Ayesha and Makbul for winning our BADA Creative commission. These selected artists will be showcasing their artwork during Bangla Month 2025.
Read below to find out more.
My work in ceramics and printmaking explores cultural identity, memory, and belonging, drawing on my Bangladeshi heritage to create pieces that speak to compassion, connection, and care. Using motifs such as the banana leaf, an emblem of sharing and togetherness, I reimagine personal and traditional symbols to honour resilience, migration, and community. Through form, colour, and storytelling, I hope to invite audiences into a shared space of recognition and reflection, offering moments of visibility for South Asian experiences while also opening broader conversations about heritage, belonging, and human connection.
Makbul Chowdhury is a British Bangladeshi independent filmmaker and visual artist, based in Birmingham. His creative practice centres around socio-political themes, expressed through a poetic, minimalist lens. Makbul’s documentaries and short films explore overlooked histories and dramatize the lives of marginalised lives. His works have been showcased at several national and international film festivals, earning both awards and critical acclaim. Makbul has a deep interest in the histories of migration and cultural diversity. Makbul aims to expand and explore the interplay between sound, visuals, physical space, and digital technologies—seeking ways to merge them into a ‘third space’ of immersive storytelling.
