About.

Saiyad Saif Ali
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Email: saiyadsaif.a@gmail.com
Mobile: +8801812720888
Date of Birth: 10th October 1990

While studying painting, I started thinking what is unique to our culture, our art practice. What we follow, or the ism or lack of ism that developed in Bangladesh have come from the West. Is there a way to develop a form that we can own?
For that I started to study on the Bengali culture and soon got fascinated by the Santals (an indigenous group who live in the north part of Bangladesh). My charcoal series is based on their culture and their history. The reason I have chosen charcoal is simply because that is a raw material that is easily available locally (there is also coal mine in the north of Bangladesh, in Rangpur area, near to the Santal villages). Historically known as Varendra or Barind, the north of Bangladesh has a rich history, dating back to the Maurya period (300 BC) and has a distinct reddish brown colour. This soil is very important to the Santals, the earliest settlers of the region. That is why I used shoe polish colour- which is amazingly also depicts the colour of the area’s soil as well as a very common polish colour to be found. I initially tried to use the soil itself but after the failed attempt I opted for the shoe polish.
These works can also be considered as my visual diary. The works were done simultaneously while I was researching on the Santals. In this portfolio I am adding three parts of my series on them.

• Diploma in Photo Media Studies, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh (ongoing)
• Master of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting, Department of Fine Arts, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh
• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting, Department of Fine Arts, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Archive Associate, Kala Kendra, Dhaka (November 2024–Present)
- Leading the research and archiving of artist Mohammad Kibria’s family-held collection, including cataloguing, documentation, metadata creation, and contextual research for long-term preservation.
- Conducting research and cataloguing for the exhibition Re See, featuring works of 14 artists active between the 1970s and 1990s; compiling old catalogues, essays, photographs, and archival materials for the exhibition catalogue and contextual narrative.
- Worked on Kala Kendra’s research-based exhibition Trap as Exhibition Designer, contributing to conceptual research, curatorial writing, spatial design, visual layout, and installation planning.
- Assisting in the research and development of Kala Kendra’s exhibition and artist archiving framework, standardizing documentation formats and digital storage methods.

Research Assistant to artist Shawon Akand for the Ganesh Haloi Bengal (GHB) Research Grant 2023 (2024–2025)
- Conducted field research and documentation for the GHB grant project.
- Assisted in interviews and oral history documentation of rickshaw painters A. B. Malek, Samad, and B. K. Das.

Project Coordinator, Tender Transgressions by artist Bhasha Chakrabarty (Dhaka Art Summit 2023)
- Coordinated production, research, installation, and communication between the artist, DAS team, and technical units.

Head Bilingual Translator, Dhaka Art Summit (2020 & 2023)
- Lead translator for curatorial texts, wall labels, exhibition materials, and publications in Bangla and English.

Exhibition Designer, Weaving Stories (Goethe-Institut 60 Years Celebration, Drik-Path Bhavan, 2022)
- Designed exhibition layout, spatial planning, and narrative flow for the pop-up exhibition.

Co-founder, Singularity Art Movement (2021–Present)
- Co-founded an initiative addressing social stigmas and stereotypes through exhibitions, workshops, and discussions which focuses on supporting and empowering diverse voices across gender and sexuality spectrums.

• Selected Grantee of Assembling Art Archives, a yearlong programme on archiving by Art South Asia Project and Asia Art Archive, 2025
• Grantee of Stories for Change 2, Pathshala South Asian Media Institute and Oxfam Novib, 2024
• Berger Young Artists’ Award, Dhaka, 2020
• Agrani Bank Gold Medal for achieving First Position at the BFA Honours Degree, the Faculty of Fine Arts, Rajshahi University, 2013
• Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Award as the all-medium winner at the Annual Exhibition, Faculty of Fine Arts, Rajshahi University, 2013
• Merit Scholarship: Rajshahi University, 2010–2013
• Media Best Award (Painting) at the Annual Exhibition, Faculty of Fine Arts, Rajshahi University, 2010

• Reimagine Sultana’s Dream, group exhibition at Liberation War Museum, Dhaka, 2026
• অ থেকে হ, group exhibition at Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Dhaka, 2025
• Semblance of Order, group exhibition at Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Dhaka, 2024
• 52, group exhibition curated by Ashfika Rahman at The Upside Space, Dubai and India, 2023
• 23rd National Young Artists’ Exhibition, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka 2022
• 24th National Art Exhibition, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, 2021
• Lighting the Fire of Freedom, a historical timeline exhibition on Bangladesh, curated by Ruxmini Choudhury at Dhaka Art Summit, Dhaka, 2020 and Art Gallery of Mississauga, Toronto, Canada, 2021
• Berger Young Artists’ Exhibition, Dhaka, 2020
• Group Art Exhibitions, Faculty of Fine Arts, Rajshahi University, Rajshahi (2010–2013)

• Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
• Rajshahi Hi-Tech Park
• Samdani Art Foundation
• Centre for Research and Information
• Prime Minister’s Office, China
• China–Friendship Conference Collection
• Rajshahi University Museum
• Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Rajshahi
• Various Private Collections