Anika Fairooz Chowdhury, a British Bangladeshi prop artist, Glowborne brings fresh faces to the chessboard with South Asian, African and Middle Eastern characters: British Bangladeshi prop artist Anika Fairooz Chowdhury is reimagining the world’s most iconic board game with her latest creation, Glowborne. This handcrafted chess set does more than glow in the dark—it celebrates heritage, culture, and representation that has long been missing from the chessboard.
A Board Reimagined
Every piece in Glowborne carries a story. Sculpted, cast, and hand-painted by Chowdhury, the chess set introduces South Asian, African, and Middle Eastern characters to the game. It is both a playable artwork and a cultural statement.
The design choices reflect deliberate storytelling:
- Kings and pawns are Bengali, symbolizing leadership and resilience.
- Queens are Black, representing power and visibility.
- Knights are Arab, nodding to the game’s historical origins in the Middle East.
- Bishops are Indian, adorned with bindis as a mark of knowledge and spiritual insight beyond Western traditions.
Art Meets Identity
Each Glowborne piece is meticulously sculpted, cast in resin, and painted with metallic accents. Glow pigments reveal hidden patterns when the lights go out, transforming the board into a luminous tribute to identity and tradition.
Chowdhury describes Glowborne as “a love letter to craft, culture, and the well-earned glow of finally being seen.”
Limited Collector’s Launch
Glowborne will launch exclusively on Kickstarter on Thursday, October 9, 2025. The drop will be extremely limited, with only 71 rewards available. Of these, just 7 Crowned Edition sets will include the complete light-up board and collector’s box. Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/craftedbyanika/glowborne-the-glow-in-the-dark-fantasy-chess-set
Once sold out, the sets will never be reproduced, making Glowborne a rare collector’s item that blends heritage with modern artistry.
More Than a Game
Glowborne is not only a chess set but also a cultural movement, placing underrepresented communities at the heart of one of the world’s oldest games. By blending history, storytelling, and craftsmanship, Chowdhury’s work shines a light—literally and figuratively—on identities too often left in the shadows.
