Over 200 artists from Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumakuru, and Hassan attended the ‘Gallery Pravesha’ on Friday at the Venkatappa Art Gallery.
Credit: DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V
Bengaluru: In an unusual turn, the renovated Venkatappa Art Gallery on Kasturba Road saw a second inauguration on Friday — this time by the state’s art fraternity.
The official reopening on Thursday excluded senior artists from both the guest list and ceremony, triggering a boycott.
In response, the Venkatappa Art Gallery Forum (VAG) organised a parallel event, ‘Gallery Pravesha’, drawing over 200 artists from Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumakuru, and Hassan.
"We expected 70 to 100 artists, but more than double came.It shows how upset the community was," said painter and forum member Alaka Rao.
Senior artists Pushpamala N, Pa Sa Kumar, U Bhaskar Rao, and Sheela Gowda also attended.
CS Krishna Shetty, a senior Bengaluru-based artist, urged the community to make full use of the space.
"This belongs to us. It’s our duty to keep the galleries active every day," he said.
VAG hopes for better official cooperation. "We’ve fought for this since 2016. We now hope officials will back artists’ aspirations," said Alaka.