Solo exhibition by Bangladeshi artist Soma Surovi Jannat, the first from Bangladesh to have a solo show in a UK museum, exploring the climate crisis through works inspired by the Sundarbans.
Soma Surovi Jannat is showing at the Ashmolean Museum in Gallery 8, and it's a bit of a milestone: she's the first Bangladeshi artist-in-residence the museum has ever had, and the first artist from Bangladesh to be given a solo show in a UK museum. The exhibition is called Climate, Culture, Care and it's open from 28 March to 1 November 2026.
Jannat draws on two very different sources for the work. One is the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, and the other is the Ashmolean's own collections. She brings them together to look at the climate crisis, and specifically at the link between natural disasters and social inequalities. It's not just about the environment in the abstract; it's about how those disasters hit different people in different ways.
There are around 40 objects in the show, including works on paper, but two pieces stand out. One is Between the Sea and the Sky, Who Holds the Ground? (2024-25), a 30-foot-long scroll that you'll need to take your time with. The other is an ephemeral drawing she completes on the gallery wall itself, so it's something that changes as the show goes on. The exhibition is part of the Ashmolean NOW series, the fifth show in that sequence.
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If you want to hear more about it, there's a gallery tour led by the curator, Professor Mallica Kumbera Landrus, who is also Professor and Keeper of Eastern Art. Entry is free, and the show runs from 28 March through to 1 November in Gallery 8.
