IUT organised its first-ever on-campus art exhibition

The Islamic University of Technology (IUT) recently held its first-ever two-day art and calligraphy exhibition. The exhibition was organised by 'Nirban,' an unofficial student organisation operating under the university's Social and Cultural Activities Committee. 

The exhibition was named 'IUT Painting & Calligraphy Exhibition' by the committee. The event, which took place on March 15th and 16th, featured various forms of artwork. There were four segments of artwork- calligraphy, painting, digital art and sketching.

The exhibition was impressively artistic and thoughtfully decorated with a special focus on the literature section, where each poem or story had a QR code for reading the whole part, and one can even enjoy it later. 

Over 300 paintings and 50 literary works from students from different countries were submitted, of which 60 paintings and 16 literary pieces were selected for display in the exhibition.      

In the literature category, Safrina Kabir's poem titled 'The Rest of Me' and Antora Arifa Mallik's short story were selected as the best. Ummay Sumaiya Sinthiya and Takiya Farhin's works were chosen as the best in the art category.

Abdullah Al Noman's calligraphy and Golam Mostafez's digital art were selected as the best in their respective categories.

During the exhibition, two former university students, Imtiaz Mushfiq and Jafar Ahmed, served as judges for the art and literature categories, respectively.

“I have always had a passion for the arts and have been drawing and writing for as long as I can remember. However, it wasn't until recently that I decided to exhibit my work publicly. It's an amazing feeling to see my work get the recognition it deserves." 

"My poem 'The Rest of Me' is about the frustration of failure despite trying hard and the importance of letting go and moving on," said Safrina Kabir, champion of the literature segment.

Three executive members were selected from the committee to lead the exhibition. They shared their experience.

“I have always dreamed of organising an art and literature exhibition on my campus, where every artist can showcase their talents and be recognised. After two years of hard work, my dream finally became a reality." 

"Every work in our exhibition is exquisite and extraordinary. The exhibition was a huge success. Nothing could be happier for me. I would like to see such events on a larger scale at our campus in the future and find my campus flourishing in art and literature,” shared Mohammad Hasin Ishraq.

“This exhibition is a representation of the artistic talent present among the engineering students of IUT. These types of initiatives encourage the artists in growing their work and provide a means of stress reduction and mental well-being,” said Nafisa Prova.

Mahir Tahmid remarked, “For a long time, many of us have been practicing art individually, but it is the first time an art exhibition like this has been held at IUT. The exhibition aimed to promote the appreciation and acceptance of art and literature among the new generation. Besides, it is also a great achievement to be able to show the creations of those who hold and practice them.”

maimunabiswas@iut-dhaka.edu