State for regional unit of Lalit Kala Akademi

GUWAHATI: The state culture department will send a proposal to the ministry of culture asking for a regional Lalit Kala Akademi centre here to give artists wider scope and exposure, Preetom Saikia, commissioner and secretary of the culture affairs department, said on Sunday.
A regional centre in the northeast will help artists from here to function independently, lead to exposure at the national and international levels, and mobilize funds.
Saikia said the state government was ready to provide all logistical support for the setting up of a regional Lalit Kala Akademi centre here.
“It has been a long standing demand of artists in the region that we have our own full-fledged Lalit Kala Akademi regional centre here. We are ready to provide space for a Lalit Kala building and other logistical support as well. We asked for it earlier and we are asking for it once again,” said Saikia.
M Ramachandran, secretary-in-charge of Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, who was in the city for the inauguration of an exhibition, said opening of a regional centre would be a collaborative initiative and a step-by-step process. He also said that it depended on creating more posts for staffers to open a new regional centre.
“Such a centre can be set up and the effort should be collaborative. For running a centre we need more people. But it will take time as factors such as budget inclusion and policy measures have to be taken into consideration,” said Ramachandran.
Many artists felt that the art scenario in the state was robust but artists from the region often faced constraints in terms of exposure and a congenial working space in the absence of a Lalit Kala Akademi regional centre here.
“If a regional centre is set up, artists will be able to function independently. The art movement in the northeast will surge ahead,” said noted artist Neel Paban Barua.
For a long time, artists and art organizations in Assam have been demanding such a centre in the city, which is considered a gateway to the northeast region and also because of its multi-cultural identity.
“We need one in Guwahati because it is a centre point and could cover the entire region. The funds are only used in workshops and exhibitions,” said Kishore Kumar Das, general secretary of All Assam Visual Artists’ Association.