BHVU stands for Basket House Village Universe, a term coined by Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck* in reference to the way of life of the Dogon people of Mali. By charging each material object that sustains their daily life, from the smallest to the largest with equal importance, the Dogon express their affinity to the ‘totality of creation’.

The name seemed apt for a small artist run gallery beginning out of the shell of a building where each and every stage of its renovation and development marked an important step towards a greater, though uncertain, vision. Opening in February 2010, Basket House Village Universe has kept growing, developing a reputation for showing challenging and innovative exhibitions, screenings, and performances.

The programme of exhibitions is determined part by thematic ideas, part by natural development of the artist network and part by proposals or open submissions. BHVU is open to all disciplines of art, we are as excited by the potential of incorporating music and dance with sculpture as we are by solo exhibitions of paintings.

BHVU is an unfunded gallery, as money is not the objective we are usually short of it. Now and then we hold open-submission exhibitions or events, open to all, and for these we charge an entry fee. Though this fee is by standards quite small, it helps to keep the gallery functioning, without overloading the charges to the artist. Depending on the type of exhibition, most art works are for sale, the gallery takes a 20% commission on all sales.

* From the book 'Dwellings' by Paul Oliver, Phaidon, 2003