Payment of scholarship money to fine arts students resuming

Chitrakala Academy to finalise the modalities

The Karnataka Chitrakala Academy, in a meeting has arrived at a consensual decision on payment of scholarship.

“The Academy used to pay a scholarship of Rs 4,000 per annum to final year students. It was stopped about five years ago for unknown reason. It has been decided to resume the facility with a view to promote art education,” Academy chairman Dr J S Khande Rao told Deccan Herald.

He was in the City to take part in the valedictory of a painting camp atop Teralli hill on Sunday.

Khande Rao said that scholarship will not be paid to all students. The modalities for selection of students will be finalised by the next budget.

A Rs one crore proposal on art teaching was submitted to the State government, which refused to release the sum but said that funds would be released as and when required.  “Though the amount is less, the government has been releasing grants without any hassle,” Rao said.

Infrastructure

Referring to lack of infrastructure Rao said that Chitrakala Academies have separate art galleries in other states. Kerala alone has seven galleries while there is not even one such facility in Karnataka. Except a small room in the first floor of the office building, the Academy has no such exclusive gallery. He felt that providing such a facility will make it easy to build a collection of paintings.

An exclusive text book on practical fine arts is not available in Kannada. The books now available are costly. Hence the Academy is considering bringing out a text book so as to ensure that students get exposure to the subject, he said.

The Academy has submitted a few proposals in the recently held meeting of South India Cultural Centre. It would be possible for the Chitrakala Academy to organise many more programmes if funds are released from the Centre. Speaking at the valedictory, senior artist M B Patil said that in a globalised era people were looking at things through media and not directly.

 “The entire India is itself like a museum. Artists have to present their observations from a native perspective,” Patil noted.

As many as 24 artists from Tumkur, Mysore, Badami, Hampi, Chitradurga, Hampi, Dharwad, Bijapur, Bhalki, Humnabad, Udupi and Bidar took part in the camp.

Academy registrar Balavanta Rao Patil said that the camp was organised specially to artists of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe.

The honourarium has been increased to Rs 10,000 from Rs 5,000. All the paintings will be exhibited for five days in Bangalore during March, Patil said.

Chitrakala Academy member Shankar Kundagola and others were present.