SHAMIM SIKDER

Shamim Sikder (22 October 1952 – 21 March 2023) was a pioneering Bangladeshi sculptor and educator known for her monumental public works that celebrate freedom, identity, and the history of her nation. A graduate of Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts in Dhaka, she further trained at Sir John Cass School of Art in London and later became a professor in the Department of Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka (1980-2001). Sikder's powerful body of work includes iconic sculptures such as Shoparjito Shadhinota (Self-Earned Freedom) at Dhaka University's TSC (1990) and Swadhinata Sangram at Full Road, Fatullah Road campus. She also created a memorial for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhaka Central Jail (1974) and a statue of Swami Vivekananda at Jagannath Hall, Dhaka University (1994). Her work was deeply rooted in Bangladesh's Liberation War, the Language Movement, and national struggles, translating collective memory into bold, dynamic forms. Over her lifetime she received major honors including the Prime Minister's Award for Sculpture (1974) and the Ekushey Padak (2000) for her outstanding contributions to Bangladeshi art. Sikder passed away in Dhaka on 21 March 2023, after a brief illness. Her legacy endures in the monumental sculptures that continue to define Bangladesh's public spaces—and in the generations of artists she inspired.