 The first formal art school in Dhakathe Dhaka Art College (now Faculty of Fine Arts)was founded in Shahbag by Zainul Abedin in 1948.Later, Mazharul Islam, the pioneer of modern architecture in Bangladesh, designed the art college as one of his early projects.In the 1970s, Jiraz Art Gallery opened as the first commercial art wing in the Shahbag area.