Nisar Hossain
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Nisar Hossain is a Bangladeshi academic and the former Dean of the
Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka The Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA) is a faculty of the University of Dhaka. It was established in 1948 as the Dhaka Art School. It was the first art school in the region and became the main centre of art and cultural practice. Since 1956 it has be ...
. It was during his tenure that the
Mangal Shobhajatra Mangal Shobhajatra, officially titled as Barshabaran Ananda Shobhajatra, is a mass procession that takes place at dawn on the first day of the Bengali New Year in Bangladesh. The procession is organised by the teachers and students of the Fa ...
, the celebration of
Pohela Baishakh Pohela Boishakh () is the Bengali New Year celebrated by the Bengali people worldwide and as a holiday on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April or 14 April (leap year) in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam ( Goalpara ...
organised by the Faculty of Fine Arts, was recognised as an
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...
in 2017.


Early life

Hossain was born in 1961 in Dhaka,
East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. He obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1981 from the Department of Drawing and Painting at the
University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...
. He later earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in 1985 from the Department of Painting at
Visva-Bharati University Visva-Bharati (IAST: ''Viśva-Bhāratī''), () is a public central university and an Institute of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which ...
.


Career

Hossain is a professor of the Department of Drawing and Painting in the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Hossain participated in international art exhibitions, residencies, or cultural programs in various countries, including Zimbabwe (1990), India (1994), Germany (1998), Sri Lanka (1999, 2012, and 2013), Denmark (2002), the United States (2009), and Japan (2011). He is acclaimed for using bold lines and vibrant colours to depict contemporary socio-political issues, including the rise of political Islam and historical violence in Bangladesh. His works, such as ''"The Assassin"'' (about the
Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, re ...
) ''and "Killer-71,"'' (about the
Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...
) critically explore national tragedies and power dynamics. In February 2021, a retrospective exhibition of Hossain's work was held at Gallery Chitrak in Dhaka, featuring 80 mixed-media pieces. The exhibition highlighted Hossain's engagement with various social, political, and environmental themes, with notable works such as ''Oppressed 71'', ''Diary of Hell-1'', ''Towards Annihilation'', and ''Killer in the Garden''. He was the chairman of the jury committee at the 25th
Berger Berger is a surname in both German language, German and French language, French, although there is no etymological connection between the names in the two languages. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French ''bergi ...
Young Painters' Art Competition. Hossain served three consecutive terms as the dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. After a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh in April 2022 ,
Pohela Baishakh Pohela Boishakh () is the Bengali New Year celebrated by the Bengali people worldwide and as a holiday on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April or 14 April (leap year) in the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam ( Goalpara ...
celebrations resumed in Dhaka with renewed energy, with Hossain playing a central role in organising the iconic Mangal Shobhajatra as the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University. For the first time, the procession was brought out from TSC instead of its traditional starting point at the Faculty of Fine Arts, due to metro rail construction. In December 2023, he expressed support for the 12th parliamentary elections. After the fall of the
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...
-led
Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...
government, Hossain was forced to resign from the post of dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts in the face of
Students Against Discrimination Students Against Discrimination () is a platform of Student activism, student activists in Bangladesh formed in 2024 during the 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement, nationwide student-led quota reform movement. The group was involved in the R ...
protests. Professor Abdul Bachir was forced to resign as dean of the Faculty of Arts. They were both accused of being members of the "Blue Panel" teachers' association, which the Awami League supports. He was replaced by
Azharul Islam Sheikh Azharul Islam Sheikh Chanchal is a Bangladeshi academic and the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Dhaka. He is a professor of the department of ceramics at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Dhaka. Early life Sheik ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hossain, Nisar Living people 1961 births People from Dhaka University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of the University of Dhaka Visva-Bharati University alumni