Artist monirul Islam

Born in 1943 in Jamalpur, Bangladesh, Monirul Islam spent his childhood in Sherpur and Kishoreganj.

He finished school late, at the age of 22, and then enrolled at East Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts. After graduation, he joined as a teacher in 1966. In 1969, he received a scholarship at the Madrid Academy of Fine Arts. Since then the artist has been staying in Spain, but in no way has he been detached from Bangladesh. In the last 40 years, he established his own artistic vocabulary which is referred to as ‘Monir’s School’ in Spain.

He was the first non-Spanish to receive the Calcografia Nacional Award of Spain in 1997. Some of his notable awards are the 5th International Exhibition of Prints, Ibiza, Spain (1972), Carmen Arozamena Prize, Madrid (1974), International Graphics Exhibition in Yugoslavia (1977, 1987), the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Award (1985), Accessit National Award of Spain (1993), the Ekushey Padak (1999) and the Hamidur Rahman Smriti Puraskar, Dhaka (2007). He was a member of international juries in the Cairo Triennale (1999, 2003) and the Spanish International Prints Competition (2000). In 2010 he has conferred the Cross of Officer of the Order of Queen Isabella for outstanding contribution to art. He received the Royal Spanish Order of Merit in 2018. Monirul Islam divides his time between Dhaka and Madrid.