Opening Saturday 11th July - Sunday 6th September 2026, Jalsaghar is a solo exhibition by Debjani Banerjee that explores the relationship between the artist’s Bengali heritage and her 1980s upbringing in England. Across film, sculpture, and installation, her work playfully merges traditional craft, religious imagery and modern culture, encouraging audiences to think about what it feels like when different ways of life interplay.
The title Jalsaghar means ‘music room’ in Bengali, and comes from Satyajit Ray’s 1958 film of the same name. Banerjee reimagines this idea of a ‘music room’ and transforms the gallery into a sensory space where you can reflect with music, stories and artworks that connect the past and the present.
In the exhibition visitors will discover figures like Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali writer, composer and thinker; Hindu deities such as Ganesh and Shiva; and imagery drawn from The Mahabharata - an ancient Indian epic poem, infused with elements of contemporary popular culture. These combined references create dreamlike works that present the artist’s ever changing ideas of India, formed through personal experience, family histories and inherited stories.
“I’m excited to present Jalsaghar at the Bluecoat, where the exhibition can unfold as a space shaped by music, memory and encounter. It will be the first time the film is shown as part of the wider installation, bringing the different elements of the work into conversation.”
Collaboration is central to Banerjee’s practice, and Jalsaghar has developed through work with a range of artists and contributors, reflecting her interest in shared making, participation and collective exchange.
The gallery will also have a space with free creative activities for children and families to be inspired and make their own art in response to the exhibition.
To mark the launch of the exhibition, there will be a Celebration Day on Saturday 11th July with refreshments, family activities and a bookable walk-through of the exhibition with artist Debjani Banerjee and Head of Exhibitions at Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dan Brown. Booking info coming soon.
About the artist
Debjani Banerjee is a mixed-media artist based in Edinburgh. Her diverse practice spans sculpture, textile, moving image, performance, dance and sound to create playful, humorous, and nuanced representations of cultural plurality, the mystic, the feminine and of broader human experience.Banerjee’s practice is rooted in collaboration, learning, and exchange. She has a strong interest in workshops, participatory methods, and archival research, using these approaches to create spaces for shared knowledge and collective engagement.
Jalsaghar was initially commissioned by CCA, Glasgow (2024), Jalsaghar has since been presented in new iterations at KARST, Plymouth (2025) and at Mimosa House, London (2025).
