Najib Tareque facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Najib Tareque
নাজিব তারেক
Tareque in 2017
Born	Abu Najib Mohammed Tareque (1970-09-05) September 5, 1970 (age 54) Dinajpur, East Pakistan
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Education	MFA
Alma mater	University of Dhaka
Occupation	Artist printmaker writer
Years active	1987–present
Style	New media
Spouse(s)	Farhana Afroz Bappy
Children	2

Najib Tareque was born on September 5, 1970. His full name is Abu Najib Mohammed Tareque. He is a talented Bengali artist, printmaker, and writer. He lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Najib Tareque is famous for his new media artworks. He was one of the first people to create online art galleries in Bangladesh. He helped start Jolrong, which was one of the very first online art galleries in South Asia. Since 1987, he has shown his art in many exhibitions. These shows have been both in Bangladesh and in other countries. He has taken part in over twenty art shows, both by himself and with other artists.

In 1998, he received an award from the Forest Department. This department is part of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Growing Up and Education

Najib Tareque was born in a place called Borogur Gola in Dinajpur, which was then East Pakistan. Today, this area is part of Bangladesh. His father was Tamizuddin and his mother was Nujratun Nisa. Najib is the fifth of seven children in his family. Because of his father's job, he lived in different places when he was young. These places included Thakurgaon, Rajshahi, and Dinajpur.

He started school in his village. After finishing his school exams in 1986 from Rajshahi Collegiate School, he went to Dinajpur Government College. In 1987, he began studying Printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts. This faculty is part of the University of Dhaka. He earned his first degree in 1994 and finished his advanced degree in 2000. While he was a student, he also took part in important movements. These included the movement against the government in 1990 and supporting the Nirmul Committee.

His Work Life

Najib Tareque worked as a main artist for big newspapers. He was at Daily Jugantor from 1999 to 2001. Then he worked at Daily Janakantha from 2002 to 2004. He also worked with Ekushey Television from 2001 to 2003.

From 2004 to 2011, he was a special advisor for brand marketing at Standard Chartered Bank Limited in Dhaka. Besides these jobs, he is also the Information Technology Secretary for the Bangladesh Charushilpi Sangsad. This is an organization for artists in Bangladesh.

His Art and Creations

Najib Tareque is mostly known as a printmaker. But he also creates art using many other materials. These include oil paints, watercolors, and acrylics. He often uses a mix of different materials in his art.

His early artworks showed nature, buildings, people, and portraits. His portraits and figures often look somewhat real, but sometimes they are also dream-like or very expressive. Many of his paintings use bright colors. The backgrounds in his art often seem to be moving.

Tareque has used the Arabic alphabet and words in his paintings. He tries to create his own unique art style. He mixes different ideas from art instead of sticking to just one.

In 1994, he had two art shows where only his work was displayed. His first solo show was called "Joy Manabata" (Joy of Humanity). It was held in May 1994 at Alliance Française de Dhaka in Dhaka. This show featured 42 paintings, mostly about people. He showed human forms as different characters like Durga or Ravana. Tareque believes in the Evolution theory. Some of his paintings show human bodies with non-human faces. Through these, he expresses his ideas about the less pleasant sides of human nature.

In 2009, he joined a group art show in Mumbai, India. He also became known for designing book covers and magazines. He helped change traditional book cover designs in Bangladesh into modern art.

In 2015, Tareque started an art space called Studio 6/6 in Mohammedpur, Dhaka. This studio is a place for artists to gather. His daughter, Taiara Farhana Tareque, helped him start it. Since it opened, Studio 6/6 has hosted many art shows, workshops, and events. It features artists with different talents, like musicians, painters, and writers.

The 'Art Makes Us Human' Project

Art Makes Us Human

The Art Makes Us Human project is an online art idea. It started in July 2015 on Instagram. Later, in May 2016, a solo exhibition of this project was held at Studio 6/6 in Dhaka. This was the first physical show of its kind in Bangladesh. It featured about 15 printed versions of his digital paintings.

For this project, Tareque combined his old and new art. He used many drawings he had made before for books, newspapers, and magazines. The artworks are colorful. They often use strong lines, bright colors, and interesting patterns. They show human faces and figures, birds, and different geometric shapes. Since it started online, over 1500 artworks have been shared from this project. You can find them on social media like Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Facebook.

About His Family

Najib Tareque is married to Farhana Afroz Bappy, who is also a painter from Bangladesh. They have two children. Their daughter, Taiara Farhana Tareque, was born in 1994 and is also a young artist. Their son is named Farhand Abu Tamjiad. In 2015, their family opened Studio 6/6, which is an art space in Dhaka.

In April 2017, Najib and Farhana had a joint art show together. It was held at their own art gallery, Studio 6/6, in Dhaka. The show was called "Nirman," which means "Construction."

Where His Art Has Been Shown

Solo Shows

Group Shows

Book Covers He Designed

• Ghorer Latim Ar Sutar Jaymity Dhaka Tolpet (2010)
• Bokkhapinjor Bonam Ostho Ar Chokhbondher Kobita (2015)
• And Those Other Ghosts Of Love (2016)
• Ishwarer Sontanera (February 2017; Kotha Prakash)

His Writings

Besides making art, Najib Tareque also loves literature. He has written poems, essays, and discussions. In 1996, he wrote a book called Kobitar Chitrayon Proshonge. This book was about painting and literature. It was published as part of the Young Writer' Project of Bangla Academy. He has also published two drawing books especially for children.

Awards He Won

• 1995 - National Miniature Art Exhibition
• 1995 - UN's 50th Anniversary Youth Artist's Art Competition, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy
• 1997 - 2nd Berger Painting Award Exhibition
• 1998 - 3rd Berger Painting Award Exhibition
• 1998 - International Miniature Art Exhibition
• 1998 - International Ozone Day Department of Forestry, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

See also

• Studio 6/6
• List of Bangladeshi painters