<p>According to official figures, till the May end 1,502 persons have visited the Gallery paying the entry fee. The NGMA in New Delhi, established in 1954, receives at least 100 visitors a day and during week-ends it goes upto 150.<br /><br />The Gallery in Bangalore hosts nearly 500 paintings, artefacts selected from the collection of NGMA, New Delhi. The exhibition has been titled ‘Signposts of the Times’. It covers artefacts belong three centuries 17th - 20th centuries. However, it has not received good response from the public so far. <br /><br />The NGMA director Prof Rajeev Lochana, based in New Delhi, says the Gallery has been making efforts to increase the participation of visitors.<br /><br />He told Deccan Herald that efforts are being made to inform the public about the gallery and attract them to the gallery in more numbers. The gallery had many invited visits of large groups as well as individuals, schools and art institutions. <br /><br />The actual number of visitors would go up if invited crowd was also taken into account. He said he himself had written to various individuals and institutions to inform them of the the Bangalore Centre and invite them to the Gallery.<br /><br />More activities<br /><br />Artistes in Bangalore feel that more activities at the Gallery would invite more visitors. M S Murthy, an artiste based in Bangalore, said that local artistes should join hands together to make setting up of the NGMA in Bangalore a success<br /><br />“Local artistes have to come together keeping aside their ego. This is the only centre for four states - Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Artistes from neighbouring states should also get due representation in the advisory committee so that it can host events which can attract public, art lovers in more numbers”, he said. <br /><br />The director recently held a meeting with local artistes in Bangalore regarding constituting an advisory committee, which will be responsible for dealing with events and shows in the Gallery. It is learnt that Bangalore artistes have suggested a few names for the committee and also for the post of director for the Bangalore Centre. Rajeev Lochana said that the committee would be set up soon. <br /><br />The then Minister of State for Culture Ambika Soni, at the inaugural ceremony, had suggested the NGMA to set up a retrospective exhibition of K K Hebbar, a noted artiste from Karnataka, in the Bangalore Centre. <br /><br />Well set out procedures<br /><br />Asked whether the work has begun in this regard, the director said, “The implementation of the same will have to be formalised through well set out procedures at the NGMA which includes approval of the same initiated by the advisory committee and subsequently by the Ministry of Culture. This would take its time but will surely happen.”<br /><br />He further added that retrospectives take considerable time for their curation because they were in-depth researched exhibitions including locating and loaning of signal works which may be in diverse holdings across the country and abroad.</p>
<p>According to official figures, till the May end 1,502 persons have visited the Gallery paying the entry fee. The NGMA in New Delhi, established in 1954, receives at least 100 visitors a day and during week-ends it goes upto 150.<br /><br />The Gallery in Bangalore hosts nearly 500 paintings, artefacts selected from the collection of NGMA, New Delhi. The exhibition has been titled ‘Signposts of the Times’. It covers artefacts belong three centuries 17th - 20th centuries. However, it has not received good response from the public so far. <br /><br />The NGMA director Prof Rajeev Lochana, based in New Delhi, says the Gallery has been making efforts to increase the participation of visitors.<br /><br />He told Deccan Herald that efforts are being made to inform the public about the gallery and attract them to the gallery in more numbers. The gallery had many invited visits of large groups as well as individuals, schools and art institutions. <br /><br />The actual number of visitors would go up if invited crowd was also taken into account. He said he himself had written to various individuals and institutions to inform them of the the Bangalore Centre and invite them to the Gallery.<br /><br />More activities<br /><br />Artistes in Bangalore feel that more activities at the Gallery would invite more visitors. M S Murthy, an artiste based in Bangalore, said that local artistes should join hands together to make setting up of the NGMA in Bangalore a success<br /><br />“Local artistes have to come together keeping aside their ego. This is the only centre for four states - Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Artistes from neighbouring states should also get due representation in the advisory committee so that it can host events which can attract public, art lovers in more numbers”, he said. <br /><br />The director recently held a meeting with local artistes in Bangalore regarding constituting an advisory committee, which will be responsible for dealing with events and shows in the Gallery. It is learnt that Bangalore artistes have suggested a few names for the committee and also for the post of director for the Bangalore Centre. Rajeev Lochana said that the committee would be set up soon. <br /><br />The then Minister of State for Culture Ambika Soni, at the inaugural ceremony, had suggested the NGMA to set up a retrospective exhibition of K K Hebbar, a noted artiste from Karnataka, in the Bangalore Centre. <br /><br />Well set out procedures<br /><br />Asked whether the work has begun in this regard, the director said, “The implementation of the same will have to be formalised through well set out procedures at the NGMA which includes approval of the same initiated by the advisory committee and subsequently by the Ministry of Culture. This would take its time but will surely happen.”<br /><br />He further added that retrospectives take considerable time for their curation because they were in-depth researched exhibitions including locating and loaning of signal works which may be in diverse holdings across the country and abroad.</p>
