Visual arts

Terracotta sculptures created in the area in the third century BCE are the earliest evidence of art in Bangladesh. In classical antiquity, the Pala Empire and the Sena dynasty produced noteworthy Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist sculptures. The development of Islamic art began in the 14th century. The Bengal Sultanate's architecture included distinctive dome-shaped mosques without minarets that had intricate niche pillars. The weaving of Jamdani designs on fine muslin was the most renowned artistic practice of Mughal Bengal, and it is today recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural asset. Jamdani motifs were comparable to both Western and Iranian (buta) textile art (paisley). The imperial court in Dhaka supported the Jamdani weavers. Mughal art also made extensive use of ivory and brass. Bengali culture makes extensive use of pottery.

The groundbreaking works by Zainul Abedin played a major role in the development of the modern art movement in Bangladesh throughout the 1950s. Unlike the West Bengali art groups, East Bengal established its own modernist painting and sculpture traditions. The Art Institute Dhaka has been an important institution for visual art in the region. In 2016, UNESCO added the annual Bengali New Year parade to its list of intangible cultural heritage. Sculptors Novera Ahmed and Nitun Kundu were among the nation's first practitioners of modernism. In recent years, photography has gained popularity as a kind of art. The twice-yearly Chobi Mela is regarded as Asia's biggest photographic festival.