Shahnaz Sultana

Shahnaz Sultana, an extraordinary Bangladeshi artist, emerges from the intersection of sanctuary and resistance, where silence is transformed into expression and personal history becomes a site of inquiry. From an early age, she gravitated toward the rhythms of nature and the quiet lyricism of daily life, using drawing as her first language and her earliest means of self‑assertion.

Raised in a cultural environment where a girl’s artistic aspirations were often questioned, she developed her practice in the margins — in private, in fragments of time, and against the grain of expectation. These formative challenges deepened her artistic resolve. Today, her work stands as both a personal refuge and a critical lens through which she examines social structures, emotional landscapes, and the resilience of women’s lives.

Her multidisciplinary practice spans monochromatic drawing, watercolour, acrylic, and oil painting. Each medium is selected for its capacity to evoke a specific emotional register. Central to her work are themes of struggle, transformation, and the often‑unseen narratives of women in South Asia. She approaches these stories not as abstractions or symbols, but as intimate, complex human experiences deserving of visibility...

Education
1990 — MSS (Master of Social Sciences)
University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

1989 — BSS (Honours)
University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

1986 — HSC (Higher Secondary Certificate)
Begum Badrunnesa Government Girls College, Dhaka, Bangladesh

1984 — SSC (Secondary School Certificate)
Motijheel Government Girls’ High School, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Exhibitions
Solo Exhibition
2022
“কালান্তর” (Kalantor)
Safiuddin Shilpalay, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Two‑Person Exhibition
2025
Feature Artist VAA
Abu Jafar / Shahnaz Sultana
OpenSpace, part of VAA Worldwide Exhibition, Bangladesh

Group Exhibitions
2025

9th SOFA Exhibition, Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2024

“Sonar Bangla” Painting Exhibition
Embassy of Bangladesh & University Claustro de Sor Juana
Mexico City, Mexico
2023

Chottogram Charu Shilpi Parishad Contemporary Art Exhibition
Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Chattogram Art Carnival 2023, Art Circle Bangladesh
2022

Chattogram Art Carnival 2022, Art Circle Bangladesh
International Online Art Exhibition: Celebrating the Spirit of Womanhood – 2
LA Aartemisia Studio and Gallery, India
2021

2nd Online Art Exhibition, Art Circle Bangladesh
Online Art Exhibition, Art Circle Bangladesh
International Day of Peace Exhibition (Nepal–Egypt Cooperation)
International Virtual Art Exhibition: Dialogue of Civilization, Lumbini Peace
International Virtual Art Exhibition: World Nature Conservation Day
International Women Artist Group (IWAG)
Lumbini World Peace Forum, Nepal
SPPA, Bhamlada Art Village, Foothills of the Himalayas
Artists Guild Ajitgarh (AGA)
Selected for The Othe...