Poet Rezauddin Stalin has been appointed as the new Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA), according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs on Sunday.

The appointment comes just a week after an office order had temporarily assigned the role to Abul Foyez Md Alauddin Khan, additional secretary (administration) at the ministry, in addition to his existing duties.

The position has seen multiple changes in the past year following the resignation of longtime DG Liaquat Ali Lucky in August 2024 after the fall of the Awami League government during the student-led uprising.

In September last year, theatre director and researcher Syed Jamil Ahmed was appointed DG for two years, but he stepped down in February 2025. Since March, BSA Secretary Mohammad Wares Hossain had been serving as acting DG.

Alongside Stalin’s appointment, the government named four new directors in different departments of the academy: filmmaker Shaheen Dil-Riaz (Training Department), media and branding specialist Daniel Afzalur Rahman (Production Department), art researcher Salma Jamal Mausum (Research and Publication Department), and theatre personality Deepak Kumar Goswami (Drama and Film Department).

The Cultural Affairs Ministry said the academy will be restructured under the new leadership to align with modern needs. Key priorities include nurturing local talents through online and offline training, adopting new strategies with national and international experts and institutions, presenting Bangladesh’s cultural heritage on the global stage, and celebrating cultural icons and milestones both nationally and internationally.

Turn houseplants into living art with Japanese kokedama

Plans are also in place to launch new departments covering important art forms, reorganise the Asian Art Biennale, and host international standard festivals on film, theatre, music, and dance.

Stalin, a major poet of the 1980s and current member secretary of the National Poetry Council, received the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 2006.

Dil-Riaz is an internationally recognized filmmaker who studied cinematography at the Free University of Berlin and the Konrad Wolf University of Film and Television.

Afzalur Rahman, a noted media and brand strategist, was instrumental in establishing FM stations such as Radio Foorti and Radio ABC.

Jamal Mausum has long been engaged in art research and planning, currently working as research coordinator at the Guidry Baoli Foundation of Arts.

Goswami, active in acting, voice dubbing, and directing, has built a career in theatre and film. His documentary was screened at the UK’s House of Commons earlier this year.