Union Culture Minister inaugurates 62nd National Exhibition of Arts and SNA Awardee Performance Festival

Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy inaugurated the 62nd National Exhibition of Arts at Lalit Kala Akademi Gallery and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardee Performance Festival yesterday evening at Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi. Union Minister of State for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi also graced the event.

On this occasion, Mr Reddy and Ms Lekhi felicitated the fellows and awardees and released the 62nd N.E.A catalogue and also launched the New Website of Lalit Kala Akademi. Chairman of Lalit Kala Academy Ms. Uma Nanduri and other dignitaries were also present on this occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Reddy said, the purpose of this National exhibition of art is to showcase the talent of all selected participants and the awardees. He said, it is heartening to observe that there is excellent response from the artists for the exhibition and the competition.

The Minister said, it shows the vibrancy of our times and the opportunities offered by Lalit Kala Akademi with the support of the Ministry of Culture. He added that Indian art over the past century shows a diverse range of artistic responses to reality.

Mr Reddy said, the current art practices and trends in art by the younger group of contemporary artists also aim to show how art has continued to evolve even during this hard time of the pandemic. He said, new forms of knowledge, aesthetic sensibilities and ideologies has reshaped the process of making art.

The Minister said, young artists have been experimenting with newer mediums and are responding to the environment around them.

He stated that contemporary practices by artists are constantly evolving with use of various mediums and their unique styles. Mr Reddy expressed happiness to know that to commemorate this noble idea of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lalit Kala Akademi has decided to bring out wall street art under the heading of Jan Bhagidari, where common people’s participation is an integral part in shaping it.

He appealed to artists to remember and highlight the artwork of artists who contributed to the freedom struggle of India through their artworks.

In her address, Ms Lekhi mentioned that an artist sees the world from a different point view and this is the creativity which is only possessed by an artist. She said, the artifacts in this exhibition are a testimony to the bright future of Indian art.

The Minister  added that the Lalit Kala Akademi is trying to bring the diverse Indian arts on one platform. She appreciated that in order to encourage artists, the Akademi has increased the number of National Awards from 15 to 20 from this year.

The festival of Performing Arts showcasing the Akademi awardees will continue for a period of eleven days. It will bring to the audience a delectable range of performances from across the length and breadth of the country and ranging over a wide spectrum of genres such as music, dance, drama, folk and tribal and allied arts and puppetry.