Art patrons Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani open the doors to their family home in Dhaka—which houses one of the most impressive art collections in South Asia—and share the story behind their mission to turn Bangladesh into a cultural hub
A singing voice greets me when I step off the bustling, dusty streets of Dhaka and into the hushed home of Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani. “I’ll just keep on, till I get it right,” it sings. There’s a pause, then it sings the line again. And again. The voice is not Rajeeb or Nadia’s, nor that of any of their three daughters—it’s a work of sound art by British artist Ceal Floyer that plays on a loop in the Samdanis’ entrance hall.
“When people come to visit, they sometimes get confused whether they’re in a house or a gallery,” says Rajeeb. That’s understandable. Floyer’s voice echoes around a slick cube of a room filled with works of art from near and far. One of Anish Kapoor’s signature shimmering steel dishes dominates one wall, while a stone sculpture of a strange humanoid figure by Pakistani-American artist Huma Bhabha stands imperiously by the doorway.
It’s so tall that visitors can stare directly into its spray-painted black eyes. “The only piece of furniture in this whole room is that chair by Zaha Hadid,” admits Rajeeb, gesturing towards a sofa that looks more sculpture than seat. “People ask us, ‘Why would you want to have a space like this in your house?’”
See also: Inside 25 of Asia's Most Beautiful Contemporary Homes
But to friends of the Samdanis, the fact that their front door opens into a gallery—devoid of family photos, furniture or any sign of domesticity—is no surprise. The couple own Bangladeshi conglomerate Golden Harvest, which has interests in banking, property, agriculture, food processing and more, but they’re best known as the founders of the Samdani Art Foundation and the biannual Dhaka Art Summit, an exhibition and research platform that is arguably the most important art event in South Asia. So in the Samdanis’ home, art is king. “When we were building the house, the main priority was the art,” says Nadia. “When you go to most people’s homes, they try to match the artwork with the rest of the house. For us, it was the other way around—we had the artworks and we built the house around them.”
Step by Step
The Samdanis began designing their home a decade ago, working with the in-house architects at Golden Harvest to create a space that would be both comfortable for their family and also a fitting showcase for their more than 2,000 works of art—some of which are so large they tower over visitors. “It was challenging,” recalls Nadia with a laugh. “But we knew what we wanted.”