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ARTIST Thajba Najeeb has auctioned three of her colourful canvases at a charity gala event in the US, raising more than BD1,500 to support secondary schoolgirls in Pakistan.
The campaigning Ibn Khuldoon National School IB art teacher is known for captivating art lovers with her collection of vibrant compositions and bold paintings and championing good causes.
The 35-year-old founder of Artology Studio abstract work is proving popular at home and abroad. It recently turned heads at the artist colony commune in Karachi, Pakistan when she featured her series of works called ‘The Search for the Metaphysical Key’.
The month-long exhibition, curated by director Yousuf Bashir Qureshi, was her first solo showcase outside the Gulf region. And the pieces entitled Lahore Sheher, Silver Blocks and Calligraphy attracted family friend Bushra Tayeb and her colleague Shahla Shareef, volunteers of the non-profit organisation The Citizens Foundation (TCF).
Thajba, a Bahraini with Pakistani roots, who lives in Saar, said: “I didn’t know this curation would help me reconnect with lost friends and family. When aunt Bushra called, I could tell how proud she was of me in her voice.
“She congratulated me on the success of the show and introduced me to TCF asking if I would be willing to donate a few works and I was happy to help. Fortunately I have a skill that could help raise money for the cause.
“I told them they could pick up any of the work regardless of price-tag, size or content. Two weeks later, it was done. I got a call from Yousuf who explained to me that three of my pieces has been packed, wrapped and delivered with love to the US.”
TCF is a global foundation that started in 1996 with five primary schools and since has established more than 1,000 schools in 110 towns and cities across Pakistan.
It helps more than 65,000 children receive a solid education. The school buildings are equipped with fully-furnished classrooms, an administrative block, a play area, a library, computer labs and science labs, an art room and other facilities. The organisation has also created 14,750 jobs of which 10,100 are female faculty positions.
Thajba’s paintings using mixed mediums such as modelling paste, fabric, chalk, markers, pencils, different types of paint, ink, silver leaf, cardboard, paper and wood, were unveiled in a silent and live auction at the TCF Washington DC Gala held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Inspired by a US initiative called Let Girls Learn that helps girls around the world attend school, the TCF fundraiser was dedicated to supporting adolescent girls’ education.
Shahla was thrilled to have Thajba on board. She said: “Her art was used to help raise as much funds as possible for the organisation to help get more children off the streets and into schools.
“Thajba is very talented and her work is vibrant and joyful with a distinct flavour of expertise and experiment and attracted a lot of attention at the sale.
“All the money raised at TCF events worldwide go towards new schools in Pakistan or meeting annual running costs of existing schools. The proceeds are being used to fund TCF secondary schools for girls, empowering these girls to shape their own destinies and become agents of positive change.
“I sincerely hope to be working with Thajba again.”
More than 550 guests attended the black-tie event and more than $1.75 million (BD660,000) was raised in total. Thajba was overwhelmed with the outcome and hopes her art inspires others to contribute to the cause in the future.
She said: “I would hope that my art inspires everyone. If a little girl gets inspired to be stronger, wiser, and smarter or even more independent, I would consider this a win for humanity.
“My life is nothing without art. I have battled with concept of myself and how important art is to me. I will always meet people who will not understand or not ‘get it’ but then that’s their way of life.
“If visual art isn’t your way of expression, maybe poetry is, comedy is, literature is, drama is or maybe film is. I think as people we need to express in order to self-reflect and be aware of ourselves. We need to reconnect and culture and art is the way to go, in my opinion.”
The mother-of-two is now setting her sights on further solo shows in London and in Pakistan in Lahore and Karachi.
