The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University launches its highly anticipated NEXT Festival 2025, one project stands out for its emotional depth: Brown Eyes Dream, a multi-platform visual work by Bangladeshi documentary photographer Aashish Kiphayet.

Opening this week at the historic Flagg Building in downtown Washington, D.C., Kiphayet’s exhibition dives deep into the diasporic response to the political upheaval that gripped Bangladesh in the summer of 2024.

Merging documentary photography and visual storytelling, Brown Eyes Dream offers a layered portrait of Bangladeshi immigrants in the United States who found themselves mobilized by a fight taking place thousands of miles away.

“This is a story about distance, memory, and the ways people resist from afar,” says Kiphayet, a graduate student in New Media Photojournalism at Corcoran.

At the heart of “Brown Eyes Dream” is the backdrop of the July 2024 Massacre, when a student-led uprising in Bangladesh erupted following a Supreme Court ruling on job quotas. The ruling sparked national outrage, and the government, led by long-standing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, responded with violent crackdowns, killing more than 1,400 people and shutting down all forms of communication.

While the streets of Dhaka burned, the diaspora in the U.S.—including many of Kiphayet’s subjects—took to the streets of their own cities. Through demonstrations, art, digital activism, and economic pressure, they amplified the resistance. The combination of internal uprising and the actions of the diaspora forced Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country.

Among those featured is Amad Mahbub, a henna artist and Kathak dancer who left Bangladesh to escape social repression and pursue a degree in neuroscience in the United States. The video documentary tells the story of her resilience and transformation, as well as her connection to Henna and Kathak dance, spirituality, and activism. Through henna art, she navigates her Bangladeshi identity, resists oppression, and builds a global community for liberation. Most importantly, we will see how her journey transforms her into an artist and how she uses henna art to stand with her homeland.

The accompanying photo series profiles Shahab Uddin and Sheikh Nudhar, a young couple who left their families in Bangladesh to pursue their education, met and married in the United States. During the uprisings and the communication blackout, they were cut off from their families and joined the protests. Although they are relieved that the authoritarian government has fallen, and reform is underway, they believe Bangladesh still offers uncertainties and few opportunities. They continue to build their lives here.     

The NEXT Festival 2025, which runs through May 16, is an annual showcase of graduate and undergraduate student work across disciplines. Kiphayet’s installation—located in the second-floor galleries.