Annual art carnival Chitra Santhe on January 3, but only online

Chitra Santhe, Bengaluru’s mega art carnival, will be held online on January 3 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 18th edition of the annual event will be dedicated to Covid-19 warriors, and feature cultural programmes along with an online art exhibition, the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, the organiser, said.

“A website exclusive for the event will be run for a month and shall be extended if required,” it said, adding that dialogues, discourses, debates and artist interaction, which are the integral part of the programme, will also move online.

The programmes can also be watched on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube along with the website, chitrasanthe.org. Contemporary artworks and traditional paintings of Mysore, Tanjore, Rajasthani, Madhubani and other styles will be available for viewing and purchase.

Parishath galleries will showcase the works of eminent artists while the event itself will provide a platform to professionals as well as self-taught artists. Around 1,500 artists from various parts of the country and abroad have shown interest in participating in the online santhe, the Parishath said.

Awards will also be bestowed on eminent artists during the santhe. Artists can register for the event by downloading the application form on https://www.karnatakachitrakalaparishath.com/chitra-santhe/.

The registration fee for artists from Karnataka is Rs 500 and up to Rs 1,000 for those from other states. The fee for foreign artists Rs 1,500.

Since the pandemic has hit artworks, the online platform for selling the artworks is expected to boost the financial prospects of many artists.

Parishath president B L Shankar said that besides the five existing galleries, 10 classrooms had been converted into galleries to facilitate the exhibition of major artists from across the country.