Shawon Akand

Shawon Akand (born October 15, 1975) is a Bangladeshi artist, writer, and researcher. He is a co-founder and director of Jothoshilpo, which works with traditional and modern art in Bangladesh. His book Bangladesher Tantshilpa (2018) won the Prothom Alo Book of the Year Award in 2019. He also wrote several songs for the music album Otol Joler Gaan (2013) by the band Joler Gaan.

Early life
Akand was born on 15 October 1975 in Kushtia, Bangladesh. His mother, Shahida Musa Ashru (1933–2015), was a poet and a social worker. He studied graphic design at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka. 

In 2007, he helped create the CRACK International Art Camp. This art camp draws on Baul philosophy. In 2016, he started Ashru Archive, a non-profit research and information centre in Kushtia. In the same year, he also helped start Jothoshilpo, a group for contemporary art.

In 2023, Akand received the Ganesh Haloi Bengal Research Grant. He received this grant for his study on the “Alternative History of Dhaka Art”, which looks at non-formal art practices in the city.

Books
 Bangladesher Tantshilpa (2018)
 An Outline Of Bangladesh Folk Art (2016)

Referances

Category:1976 births
Category:Living people
Category:Bangladeshi writers
Category:People from Khulna Division