Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath

The Classrooms, Chitrakala parishath serene campus, Bangalore, India

Chitrakala Parishath (Kannada: ಚಿತ್ರಕಲಾ ಪರಿಷತ್ತು) is an art institution and cultural organisation located in the city of Bangalore, in the state of Karnataka, India. Its main aim is the promotion of art and culture and it is well known for the various art exhibitions that it conducts both at the state and the National levels.

Growth

The Stone temple in Chitrakala parishath's serene Campus, Bangalore, India

Dr. Svetoslav Roerich donated several of his paintings and those of his father Nicholas Roerich to the Parishath. In its initial years it started holding art exhibitions at various places in Karnataka and India and also started conferences and workshops related to art and culture.[1] Nanjunda Rao's Chitrakala Vidyalaya was added to the Parishath in 1964.[1] In 1966, it obtained recognition as an art-centre by the state and national Lalit Kala Akademi (academy of art). One of the pioneering activities undertaken by the Parishath was to conduct a survey of the Karnataka state's art treasures such as the famous Mysore paintings. This survey was hugely successful in cataloguing the art treasures and this also lead to lot of studies and research on the various arts found.[1] With time, the Parishath added galleries and also a graphic studio making it into a full-fledged art complex. In 1993, an INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) centre at Bangalore was started with the help of the Parishath. In 1995, Mr. Kejriwal donated his family's art collection which were displayed in spacious galleries in the Parishath. In 1998-99 a sculpture gallery was also added to the Parishath complex. An open-air theatre to cater to the needs of the visual and performing artists is also present. In 2003, two more large galleries for international and folk art were also inaugurated. One of the important events organised annually is the Chitra santhe (art bazaar) which is a sale of art objects in which hundreds of artists from all over India participate and sell their art work to the public.

Chitrakala Vidyalaya (College of Fine Arts)

Chitrakala Vidyalaya was started by MS Nanjunda Rao as an art-school in a small room in the locality of Malleswaram, Bangalore.[2] Some of the courses taught here are painting, sculpture, applied art, graphic art and art history. The college offers a graduation degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts.[3] While the Karnataka Government initially provided a 13-acre (53,000 m2) plot of land near Doddaballapur for this college, a new piece of land was handed over to the institution near Mysore road, which will now house the college.[2] An extension of the college called Chitrakala Institute of Advanced Studies (CIAS) was also started to cater to the advanced studies in art.[3] CIAS offers Master's degree in Fine Arts (MFA).

INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage)

INTACH is a cultural organisation established with the mandate or conservation and restoration of Indian heritage objects like historical buildings, paintings, art work and manuscripts. Some of the objectives of INTACH are:

The Bangalore centre of INTACH was established in 1993. Some of the important projects undertaken by this centre are:

Publications

Another important activity undertaken by the Parishath is to publish books related to art and culture. A book on Mysore paintings and its translated version in the Kannada language is one of the important publications by the Parishath. Some of the other publications brought out by the Parishat are:[4]

Chitra Santhe

Chitra Santhe is an annual event organised by the Parishath that attracts artists from all over India who showcase their artwork for sale to the public.[5] It is held along the footpaths of the Kumara Krupa Road which gets occupied by artists selling items like paintings, porcelain, sculptures and other art objects. Some artists even offer on-the-spot portrait sketches of people interested in them.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 History of Chitrakala Parishath is discussed by Rasheed Kappan (2005-01-10). "Chitrakala Parishath: taking art to the people". Online Edition of The Hindu, dated 2005-01-10 (Chennai, India: 2005, The Hindu). Retrieved 2007-04-24.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The creation of Chitrakala Parishath is discussed by Bala Chauhan. "Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat". Online webpage of OnlineBangalore.com. Copyright, OnlineBangalore.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-24. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 A description of Chitrakala Parishath is provided by "Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat". Online webpage of OnlineBangalore.com. Copyright, OnlineBangalore.com. Archived from the original on 2007-01-24. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
  4. ↑ Publications brought out by Chitrakala Parishath are mentioned in "Publications". Online webpage of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. Chitrakala Parishath. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  5. ↑ An article on Chitra Santhe is presented by Special Correspondent (2007-01-01). "'Chitra Santhe', a big draw". Online Edition of The Hindu, dated 2007-01-01 (Chennai, India: 2007, The Hindu). Retrieved 2007-04-28.

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