PHOTOS: COURTESY OF SOMA SUROVI JANNAT

Surovi has spoken about how the vulnerability of disaster victims has deeply affected her, motivating her to raise awareness among more sheltered and privileged communities—regardless of whether they have the power to create change. Still, she believes there is hope, even in small actions.

AISHWARYA RAIHAN

Soma Surovi Jannat makes history as the first Bangladeshi artist to showcase her work in a solo exhibition titled Climate, Culture, Care at the Ashmolean Museum—the oldest museum in Britain and the world’s first university museum. Situated in Oxford, the museum offers residencies to South Asian artists, and for the first time, a Bangladeshi artist was given the opportunity to spend time there expanding her horizons.

Curated by Mallica Kumbera Landrus, Keeper of Eastern Art at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford, the exhibition Ashmolean NOW: Soma Surovi Jannat – Climate, Culture, Care runs from March 28, 2026 to November 1, 2026.

Soma Surovi Jannat completed her BFA at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka, and her MFA at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, India. She was awarded the Samdani Art Award at the 2020 Dhaka Art Summit, which included a residency at the Delfina Foundation in London, among many other recognitions. However, one of her most prestigious opportunities came as the Frere Hall Artist-in-Residence at the Ashmolean Museum.

Before, during, and after her residency, she worked on themes of climate change driven by politics and corruption, resulting in migration. She has also highlighted how the lives of coastal communities are affected by deforestation. The exhibition features 22 of her artworks, predominantly pen on paper, alongside approximately 18 objects from the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology that inspired her work.

Resensitising the Brown Narrative reflects her creative journey during her Oxford residency in 2023. The work is inspired by clay sculptures from British India depicting South Asian people, which were originally created to introduce Indians to British audiences. However, these collections present professions without capturing the multilayered, multidimensional nature of their lives. The uniformity in skin tone, clothing, and occupation encouraged Surovi to challenge and reinterpret the subcontinental narrative.

In a Timeless Sweet Land , created before her residency, reflects her childhood memories in Lalmonirhat, a northern district of Bangladesh. Through this work, she contemplates climate migrants and the fundamental human right of every child to experience a childhood free from trauma.

Surovi has spoken about how the vulnerability of disaster victims has deeply affected her, motivating her to raise awareness among more sheltered and privileged communities—regardless of whether they have the power to create change. Still, she believes there is hope, even in small actions.

Between the Sea and the Sky, Who Holds the Ground? a work over 30 feet long, questions the forces responsible for climate damage and forced migration.

Where Every Leaf Holds a Tale is a series exploring Bangladesh’s southern islands, including the mangrove forest of the Sundarbans and surrounding saline lands. Due to deforestation and lack of protection, all living beings—including humans—are at risk. One artwork, inspired by a second-century BCE terracotta Yakshi figure, depicts Dimer Char (Egg Island) as Mother Nature, marked with a ‘kalo tika’ for protection. She cradles a dead bird on her mangrove-covered chest, with a mangrove root sprouting from her navel and a tiger roaring between her legs. The piece reflects both the resilience of nature and the hope to preserve it despite ongoing destruction.

In summary, the exhibition reflects Surovi’s dedication, compassion, and relentless creative and physical labour. She has expressed deep gratitude to her curator, the Ashmolean Museum team, her family, and those who supported her in even the smallest ways—including someone who went through 400 Ora flowers to find one with seven petals. She also acknowledges the support of the British Council Bangladesh, Samdani Art Foundation (Seher & Taimur Hasan), Neha & Sumedh Jaiswal via Goldman Sachs Gives, the Charles Wallace Bangladesh Trust, Gallery Espace, and especially the Samdani Art Foundation for their role in her journey.

Surovi, apart from being a source of inspiration for upcoming Bangladeshi artists, is also an exemplary individual bearing the flag of the underrepresented South Asian art and culture.