Reaching Out “THERE”….

There is indeed a new consciousness creeping up in certain quarters of the pan Indian art community in general and the premier art institutions in specific, regarding the need to reach out to the artists of the North eastern states of India and tap the hitherto untapped zone of the vibrant art scene in the region. Two National art camps comprising a good number of participation from artists of different parts of India and North-East within a short span of three months seems unprecedented signifying a new beginning in this direction. The first one organised by Wanderlust Foundation of Vadodara which had been already reviewed in this column was followed by the art camp organised by Kanu Nayak Art Foundation of Mumbai with local assistance from artist like Aditi Chakravarty, Prabin Nath and others. The camp was held in the Don Bosco institute of Kharghuli, Guwahati, Assam from 14th August to 19thAugust. There was a press conference followed by an inaugural cultural function in the 13th of August. The principal convenor of the camp, esteemed artist Vilas Shinde from Mumbai briefing the press conference stressed upon the need for mutual communication, interaction and collaboration of the artists from this region and the rest of India, besides expressing his appreciation for the efforts of the local artists in their artistic pursuits and endeavours amidst infrastructural difficulties. The cultural evening showcased Satriya Dance by Naren Chandra Baruah, the classical dance form of Assam thriving for almost six hundred years in the sacred premise of the Vaishnavite monasteries called the Sattra, established by the great saint scholar dramatist, artist and social reformer Srimanta Sankardeva along with the vibrant folk dance Bihu, violin recital by Bidyut Mishra, and Bharat Natyam by Nrityanjali Academy. Later on a film on art camps by Kanu Nayak Art Foundation entitled “HEART & SOUL” was also screened. The participating artists were Aditi Chakravarty, Ajit Seal, Avijit Ray, Benu Mishra,Benedict S Hynniewta,Buddhi Thapa, Hanuman Kamli, Jaykumar G,Jinsook Shinde, Maneswar Brahma, Minal Damani, Neel Pawan Baruwa, Noni Borpujari, Prabin kumar Nath, Pulok Gogoi, Rajan Fulari, Ravindra Varma, R M Palaniappan, Sanghamitra Nandy, Sridhar Iyar, Subhakar Laskar, Vilas Shinde, Vineet Kumar, Vijay Bagodi, Y Gunindro Singh, and Yusuf. Multiple expressions of style, themes and technical execution could be seen though the medium was same that is drawing on paper. Rendered in both figurative narration and abstractionist representation the art works mostly manifested lyrical poesis and subliminal quality. Artists like Vilas Shinde and Yusuf, had finer minimalist abstractionist appeal in their work. The evenings of the camp days were dedicated to discussion and slide presentation. The valedictory function was marked by the screening of a film on the famous poet of Assam Nilomoni Phukan, a film produced by Sahitya Akademi and directed by Gautam Bora, along with three slide presentation of Sridhar Iyar about his performance art.

The 8th National Art Festival, was organised this year in Tourist Lodge, Chaltlang, Aizawl, in  Mizoram, from 6th to 12, September, 2010.Organized by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in collaboration with the Art and Culture Department, Government of Mizoram. The 8th National Art Festival was inaugurated by the Governor of Mizoram, M Lt Gen (Retd) M Lakhera on 6thy September, 2010. The Governor was delighted that the prestigious National Art Festival is being held in Mizoram and urged upon the Lalit Kala Akademi to facilitate logistic support to the artists of Mizoram and the northeast as a whole to enable them to exhibit their artworks at the national capital, New Delhi and other metro cities in the country. The Mizoram Art and Culture Minister, Mr P C Zoram Sangliana grace the occasion as guest of honour. The highlights of the inaugural programme are the cultural programmes presented by Ms Kavita Dwibedi, New Delhi; Stuti Group, Guwahati; Lili Veng Cultural Group of Mizoram. Altogether there are six sculptors, two photographers, and fortyone painters representing from 28 different states of India participating in the art festival. The works executed during the 8th National Art Festival at Aizawl will be exhibited at the next subsequent art festival. Likewise, the artworks executed during the 7th National Art Festival at Shillong during March 2010 are being displayed at the Vanapa Hall, Aizawl, Mizoram. The five day exhibition was inaugurated by the Mizoram Art and Culture Minister, Mr P C Zoram Sangliana on 7th September, 2010. The exhibition consists of 39 paintings and six sculptures. Both the inaugural functions was chaired by the Secretary, Lalit Kala Akademi, Dr Sudhakar Sharma who was impressed by the hospitality and generousity of the government of Mizoram for providing a space for the two storied annexes at the State Museum for the purpose of setting up the Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre for the Northeast India. Dr Sharma officially declared to facilitate setting up of the regional centre and later he visited the Multipurpose Cultural Centre of Mizoram Art and Culture Society at Berawtlang, State Central Library to take stock of the proposal to be taken up by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. The new complex is expected to be inaugurated by the president of India, Smt Pratibha Patil on October, 2010.

As part of the Art Festival there is slides presentation by different artists representing different regions of India. The presentation included of artists K K Kamra and Samit Das of Delhi, Attiya Thakur and Shafi Chaman of J & K, Raphael Warjri of Meghalaya, A Viswam of Tamilnadu. The show culminated by the film show on Amrita Sher Gil. All the artists presented their individual artworks, but Raphael Warjri presented a glimpse of the Meghalaya art scenario and commented on the necessity to incorporate the vibrant folk elements of the North Eastern region in symbiosis with contemporary art.The artists participants were taken for sightseeing to certain typical villages of Reiek, where the Anthurium festival is being hosted by the Tourism Department, Government of Mizoram.

(Special thanks to my friend Raphael Warjri of Meghalaya and Rosiamliana Ralte of Mizoram.)