Villa Swagatam - Indo-French cultural residency program

Residency brief

Cosmos Foundation is a multidisciplinary cultural initiative founded by Enayetullah Khan, dedicated to fostering artistic dialogue, research, and creative exchange both locally and internationally. The Foundation operates through its key platforms—Gallery Cosmos, Cosmos Atelier71, and Cosmos Books—forming a dynamic ecosystem that supports contemporary art practices, craftsmanship, and intellectual engagement.

Gallery Cosmos serves as a prominent exhibition space in Dhaka, presenting modern and contemporary art while encouraging dialogue between artists, curators, and diverse audiences. Cosmos Atelier71 functions as an experimental and collaborative studio, supporting interdisciplinary practices including printmaking, installation, and material-based exploration. Cosmos Books complements these initiatives through publications that document artistic practices, critical discourse, and cultural narratives.

The Foundation is committed to building meaningful connections between artists and communities by facilitating workshops, residencies, exhibitions, and collaborative projects. It actively engages with educational institutions, emerging practitioners, and local artisans, fostering an environment where traditional knowledge and contemporary artistic inquiry intersect.

Through this residency programme, Cosmos Foundation aims to host an artist interested in engaging with the cultural and material landscape of Bangladesh. The resident will have the opportunity to explore local crafts, interact with artisans, and respond to the urban and socio-cultural context of Dhaka. The programme encourages experimentation across mediums, with a strong emphasis on process, exchange, and the development of new perspectives within a collaborative framework.

As part of this residency, a research-oriented component may be developed around the unique ecological and cultural context of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest. In affiliation with Wild Team Bangladesh (WTB), Cosmos Foundation can facilitate access to their Museum and Conservation Center, allowing the resident to engage closely with environmental conservation efforts and community-based practices.

This segment of the programme encourages the artist to investigate the relationship between ecology, local livelihoods, and artistic practice. The Sundarbans, with its fragile ecosystem, rich biodiversity, and climate-vulnerable communities, offers a critical framework for exploring themes such as sustainability, coexistence, and adaptation. The resident is invited to respond through field research, material experimentation, and collaborative engagement, fostering a body of work that reflects both environmental sensitivity and cultural exchange.

Our Space

Cosmos Foundation is located in the heart of Dhaka within a purpose-built, multi-layered creative environment that brings together production, exhibition, research, and publication under one integrated structure. Rather than a separated institutional model, the space functions as a continuous ecosystem where artists, curators, writers, and researchers work in proximity and dialogue.

Within the same building, the resident has direct access to Gallery Cosmos, Cosmos Atelier71, and Cosmos Books, alongside the office of Wild Team Bangladesh (WTB). This close spatial arrangement allows for a fluid exchange between exhibition-making, studio practice, editorial work, and ecological research initiatives.

The building itself operates as a living, adaptive environment for artistic practice. It includes active studio floors, exhibition areas, research and publication desks, and shared collaborative zones. A rooftop café, surrounded by plants and natural elements, extends the space vertically, offering a quieter atmosphere for reflection, informal dialogue, and conceptual development within the density of the city.

This integration of functions creates an environment where process and presentation coexist. Artists are encouraged to move across disciplines and formats, engaging not only with their own practice but also with the broader cultural and intellectual activities taking place within the Foundation.

Situated in a highly connected area of Dhaka, the space offers easy access to the city’s major cultural institutions, universities, artisan networks, and creative communities. This accessibility ensures that the resident can navigate the city efficiently while remaining anchored within a focused, supportive working environment.

Residency conditions

The resident is expected to engage in exchange, dialogue, and collaborative learning within a multidisciplinary environment. At Cosmos Foundation, artists, designers, writers, researchers, and other practitioners work alongside resident artists, enabling cross-disciplinary interaction and shared experimentation.
The residency is process-led, with emphasis on research, experimentation, and reflection. The resident will be encouraged to develop work through studio practice, collaborative sessions, field visits, and a final presentation of outcomes. All research material and outputs will be documented and retained within Cosmos Foundation’s internal archive.
The resident may participate in selected workshops, talks, and collaborative programmes with educational institutions and creative practitioners connected to the Cosmos ecosystem.
The resident will be hosted at the Cosmos Centre rooftop artist residency space, a combined living and working environment. The space includes a rooftop studio, garden area, in-house chef providing full meals, and a café setting designed for informal exchange and reflection.
As an extension of the residency, a field-based research component will be facilitated in the Sundarbans in collaboration with Wild Team Bangladesh. The resident will be accommodated at the EK Sundarbans Interpretation Centre with access to air-conditioned facilities, supporting an immersive engagement with ecology, climate, and local knowledge systems.
The resident will be supported throughout the programme by the Cosmos Foundation team. Arif Bachchu, Gallery Executive at Gallery Cosmos and a Fine Arts graduate, will assist the artist on a day-to-day basis, including coordination, communication, and local navigation. The overall residency programme will be coordinated and led by Sourav Chowdhury, ensuring curatorial guidance, introductions, and smooth execution of all activities.
Cosmos Foundation will provide full logistical and curatorial support across all stages of the residency. The resident will have access to a dedicated working space.
The resident will receive a residency grant of a total amount of EUR 1500.
The resident’s travel costs to and from his/her home address will be covered by the French Institute in India.
The resident will be provided with accommodation

Eligibility criteria

The resident must be proficient in English.
The resident should be open to engaging with a new cultural and urban context, with full support and guidance provided by the Cosmos Foundation team throughout the residency.