Dhaka Art Summit (DAS), Bangladesh's premier biennial art event, on Friday announced the dates and detail programmes of its upcoming edition in February 2018. 

The fourth edition of the summit will be held from February 2-10, 2018 at its traditional venue, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA). Produced by the Samdani Art Foundation and its network, in collaboration with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and partnerships with the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, National Museum and National Art Gallery of Bangladesh, the next edition of DAS will be much bigger in duration (nine days, compared to the three-day schedule in its past three editions) and will also widen its focus to include connections to Southeast Asia. Samdani Art Foundation's Artistic Director Diana Campbell Betancourt will return as the Chief Curator of DAS 2018, for the third time.

Over the last five years, the DAS has brought together art and arts professionals from across South Asia, including Bangladesh (65% of the artists exhibited are Bangladeshi), Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives, Myanmar, and India, and has made a name for itself as a major event of  South Asian Art in the world.

For the first time, DAS 2018 will feature both an Opening Celebration Weekend (February 2–4) and a closing Scholars' Weekend (February 8–10), with several tiers of new programming slated for both.

The closing weekend will feature two concentrated symposiums, the first devoted to the work and legacy of Colombo-born art historian Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy; the second, titled “Displays of Internationalism: Asia Interfacing With The World Through Exhibitions, 1947-1989”, will analyse the history of Asian art exhibitions. A closing panel, held in collaboration with The Exhibitionist, will bring together critics from across South Asia to consider and chronicle the last five years of biennales and other recurring exhibitions within the region.

A new Artist-Led Initiatives Forum will be introduced within the Summit, featuring curated presentations from eleven artist-led Bangladeshi initiatives, as well as contributions from visiting artist-led initiatives from Nepal, Northeast India, and other neighbours to Bangladesh.

DAS 2018's new Education Pavilion will transform DAS into a free art school for the creative community of Bangladesh, complementing the exhibitions programs and re-imagining the traditional tool boxes used when considering art-making and artistic practices.

Further details of the programmes are available on the Dhaka Art Summit website.