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Spain honours Monirul Islam
Artist Monirul Islam, one of the most illustrious Bangladeshi expatriates living in Europe, has recently been honoured with 'The Cross of Officer of the Order of Queen Isabella', which is a Spanish civil order granted in recognition of services that benefit the country, as is explained in Wikipedia.
In a ceremony organized by the Spanish Embassy in Dhaka on Sunday, May 14, the maestro was given a reception where the Spanish ambassador Arturo Perez Martinez conferred the highly acclaimed Spanish accolade on the artist for his contribution to the arts. Alongside the members of the Dhaka cognoscenti, the function was attended by Foreign Minister Dipu Moni.
Monirul Islam won the National Award of Spain in 1997 for his contribution to the art scene with the distinct vocabulary that successfully fuses Spanish and Bangladeshi modern traditions. He is especially known for his repertoire in etching and aquatint.
At the home front, his informal and buoyant language places him at the apex of the present art scene.
He won the Ekushey Padak, Bangladesh's highest civil honour for artists and writers, in 1999.
Born in 1943 in Chandpur, the artist completed his BFA and MFA from the then Government College of Arts and Crafts, which is now the Faculty of Fine Arts of Dhaka University. The artist has been living in Spain since 1969 following a scholarship awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs under an exchange programme.