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 55) 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 (born September 5, 1970) is a talented Bengali artist, printmaker, and writer from Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is famous for his new media artworks, which use modern technology. He was one of the first artists to create online art galleries in Bangladesh.

Najib Tareque helped start Jolrong, one of the first online art galleries in South Asia. Since 1987, he has shown his art in many exhibitions, both by himself and with other artists, in Bangladesh and other countries. In 1998, he received an award from the Forest Department of Bangladesh.

Early Life and Education

Abu Najib Mohammad Tareque was born on September 5, 1970, in Dinajpur, which was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). He is one of seven children. Because his father moved for work, Najib spent his childhood in different places like Thakurgaon, Rajshahi, and Dinajpur.

He started school in his village. After finishing his school exams in 1986, he went to Dinajpur Government College. In 1987, he began studying Printmaking at the University of Dhaka. He earned his first degree in 1994 and a higher degree in 2000. While he was a student, he also took part in important movements for democracy in Bangladesh.

Career Highlights

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

From 2004 to 2011, he was a consultant for Standard Chartered Bank Limited in Dhaka, helping with their marketing. He has also been the Information Technology Secretary for the Bangladesh Charushilpi Sangsad, an artists' organization.

Artistic Creations

Tareque is mainly known as a printmaker. However, he also creates art using many different materials, like oil, water, and acrylic. He often uses a mix of these materials in his art.

His early artworks often showed nature, buildings, people, and portraits. His portraits and figures sometimes look very real, but also a bit dream-like or impressionistic. Many of his paintings use bright colors and have backgrounds that seem to move. He sometimes uses Arabic alphabet letters and words in his paintings. Tareque tries to combine different art ideas to create his own unique style.

In 1994, he had two solo exhibitions. His first one, "Joy Manabata" (Joy of Humanity), was held in May 1994. It featured 42 paintings, mostly about people. He showed human forms in different ways, sometimes even mixing human and non-human features to express his ideas.

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

In 2015, Tareque started an art space called Studio 6/6 in Dhaka. His daughter, Taiara Farhana Tareque, helped him open it. This studio has hosted many exhibitions, workshops, and events for artists, musicians, and writers.

The "Art Makes Us Human" Project

Art Makes Us Human

The online art project Art Makes Us Human began in July 2015 on Instagram. Later, in May 2016, a special exhibition of this project was held at Studio 6/6 in Dhaka. This was the first time digital paintings from an online project were shown physically in Bangladesh.

For this project, Tareque combined his old and new designs. He used many illustrations he had drawn before for books, newspapers, and magazines. The artworks are colorful, with bold lines, bright shades, and interesting patterns. They show human faces, figures, birds, and different shapes. Since it started online, more than 1500 artworks from this project have been shared on social media like Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Facebook.

Family Life

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

In April 2017, Najib and Farhana had a joint exhibition called "Nirman" (meaning "Construction") at their Studio 6/6 gallery in Dhaka.

Exhibitions and Works

Solo Exhibitions

Joint Exhibitions

Book Cover Designs

Najib Tareque has designed covers for several books, including:

• 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)

Literary Works

Besides creating art, Tareque also enjoys literature. He has written poems, essays, and discussions. In 1996, he wrote Kobitar Chitrayon Proshonge, a book about painting and literature, published by the Bangla Academy. He has also published two drawing books specifically for children.

Awards and Recognition

Najib Tareque has received several awards for his art:

• 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