ORION Public Lecture 

Ashfika Rahman

Ashfika Rahman is a Bangladeshi visual artist whose interdisciplinary practice explores histories, memories, and the lived realities of marginalized communities. Born in Natore, Bangladesh and currently based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Rahman works across installation, sculpture, photography, textiles, sound, video, text, drawing, and printmaking. Grounded in long-term research and collaboration, her practice brings together personal and collective memories, oral histories, material culture, and archival fragments to construct alternative forms of historical narration.

Rahman studied at Hochschule Hannover – University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Germany, and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Bangladesh, where she later joined the faculty. She has been invited as a speaker, panelist, and guest lecturer at institutions including the Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW, Switzerland; Hochschule Hannover – University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Germany;the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague (KABK), the Netherlands; and other international institutions.

Her work has received significant international recognition. She was awarded the Future Generation Art Prize 2023-24, presented by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, and has been a finalist for the Samdani Art Award in 2018, 2020, and 2023, as well as The Sovereign Asian Art Prize in 2022. She was also selected for the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass in 2018 and the Format Festival Open Call Award in 2021.

Rahman has presented solo exhibitions in Bangladesh, India, and Switzerland. Her work has been presented internationally at institutions and platforms including Palais de Tokyo, the Dhaka Art Summit, the Busan Biennale, the Triennial of Photography Hamburg, Pinchuk Art Centre, and Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo. She has also participated in international art fairs and art weeks including Frieze London, India Art Fair, Zurich Art Week, Art Mumbai, and Art Basel Hong Kong.