Kerala Lalithakala Akademi’s new governing body has approved a plan to expand its work through art camps, international exchanges and regular exhibitions.
The plan was adopted at the body’s first meeting in Thrissur, chaired by Akademi president Professor Prakash Moorthy. The institution will organise painting, sculpture and digital-media camps at locations in Kerala associated with Mahatma Gandhi, using contemporary art to explore their cultural and historical significance.
The Akademi also plans to launch Art Exchange programmes to bring works by celebrated Indian painters who have died to audiences in India and abroad. Camps and seminars are planned at Kalagramam in Kannur and Raja Ravi Varma Smarakam in Kilimanoor. The programmes will examine new directions in art and how artists can respond to contemporary audiences.
The governing body discussed the institution’s financial difficulties. Its new leadership plans to seek urgent government assistance while developing ways to raise revenue independently. It also wants to make the Akademi’s galleries active venues for regular exhibitions and other events.
The first step will be Punarjani, a curated display of selected works from the Akademi’s collection. It is due to open on October 13 at the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery in Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. Akademi secretary Vaikom M.K. Shibu said the exhibition would begin efforts to make the galleries lively spaces for artistic engagement.