Artists from across India painting their best at National Art Festival

Gangtok, Mar 29: Forty five artists from different Indian cities will be painting best of their works in a weeklong National Art Festival that went underway in Gangtok today. Sikkim Akademi has organized the festival in collaboration with Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.

The festival is being initiated with a view of letting artist belonging to different culture know about other and gain some ideas.

“We get to interact with artist from different corner of the country and get to learn something new about their style and culture, which is very helpful for any artist” said Mrida Joshi, a practicing Supreme Court lawyer.

The artists present here are mostly senior painters who have already established themselves at national level. Amidst them was a Tanu P. Khandual at his early 20’s and final year student of Fine Arts at Vishwa Bharati University, who says “for any artist appreciation is more than praise, unfortunately our society is yet to change the mindset towards them who are into creative field”. He has already been awarded with national level work and has participated in many national and international level workshops. “I want to take painting as my fulltime profession after I finish my Masters this May, as I have been painting since my school days” adds Khanduwal.

The workshop organized by the Lalit Kala Academi, premier fine art institution of the Government of India is the initiative to promote artiste. We have organizing workshop since long time and this is second in Sikkim” informed secretary of Academi, RK Badela.

“Since I am from Bhubaneshwar, Orissa my work may portray something about my state, every artist has that tint, they tend to highlight their culture and environment”, says a full time painter and Principal of Dhauli College of Art and craft, Orissa. In the initial period it will be difficult to establish yourself, but gradually you have possibility for achievement” adds Panchanan Samal who practices Semi realistic and abstract from of art. The work of the artist present will be taken by the Lalit Academy, who has funded the workshop as well as artist expenditure. The academy also grants financial honorary to the artists.

Very less people appreciate work of an artist because many people cannot pressurize themselves to understand the work, and those few appreciation are enough for we artists to get encouraged” says a part time painter and a teacher from Delhi.