Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts began its journey on the first day of the Bengali calendar of 1407, 14th April 2000. The gallery was off on a propitious start with a solo exhibition of works of the distinguished artist Mohammad Kibria. The exhibition was inaugurated by veteran artist Safiudiin Ahmed. The gallery is an important hub of all the activities of Bengal Foundation. The gallery has organised exhibitions, workshops and lectures; published books, brochures, catalogues and portfolios; organised visits by local and foreign artists and art critics, and produced documentary films on artists.
In the past one decade Bengal Gallery has helped the fine arts movement of the country by creating an art market and raising awareness about art. In the same vein, it is important to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of a few other art galleries that started their journey in the 60s. Under the auspices of Bengal Gallery, a market for art has gradually emerged which has not only benefitted the artists but has also added zeal to their creativity. The gallery, in the long run, has helped shape a taste for art. Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin once said regretfully that it was not easy to generate enthusiasm for the promotion of art. Since inception, Bengal Gallery has been sincerely trying to mitigate the artist’s regret.

The gallery’s success in awakening interest in art among the upper and middle-income groups is visible when we see artworks becoming an integral part of home and office decoration. Bengal Gallery has arranged over 200 exhibitions in ten years. An important part of the gallery’s function is to present Bangladesh’s art in international forums- and this is has done successfully in Brussels, Seoul, Tokyo, Kolkata, Dubai, Maldives, Toronto and New York. Collaborations in art have extended well beyond boundaries and have helped establish Bengal Gallery as a reliable partner and trusted advisor of South Asian art.
In the past 12 years, Bengal Foundation has organised 15 art camps at home and abroad. At these meeting events, painters exchange views and work together. The experience creates an array of exposures and sensitizes artists to one another’s ideas and techniques. The artworks created in art camps find their place in an art repository that forms the core of the Bengal Foundation Collection. Bengal Gallery has embraced both established and promising, young and old, local and foreign artists and provided a much needed impetus to the fine arts movement in the country.