Mangaluru: A 3-day Visual Art Workshop and Exhibition have been inaugurated here on Tuesday January 25 at 9.30 am in the presence of Capt. Ganesh Karnik, Former Member of Karnataka Legislative Council, M. Prashanth Shet, S. L. Shet Jewelers & Diamond House, Mangaluru and Srinivas Deshpande, General Manager of Karnataka Bank Ltd. The Visual Art Workshop, titled ‘Re-looking at Depiction of Land/Landscape in Visual Art,’ is being hosted by Art Kanara till January 27 at the Kodialguthu Center for Art & Culture, Ballalbagh, Mangaluru.
It is specially meant for the art students and emerging artists of rural Karnataka. About 20 students and young artists from Mahalasa College of Visual Art, Mangaluru, Alva’s College of Visual Art, Mudabidri, Chitrakala Mandir, Udupi and Vijaya College of Fine Arts, Gadag are participating in the workshop.
In the inaugural address, Capt. Ganesh Karnik said that students should have an open mind to receive the experiences and knowledge of what the senior practitioners have undergone in their journey. “This is an opportunity to unveil hidden talent by responding to the contemporary issues through a visual medium,” he said.
Srinivas Deshpande, General Manager of Karnataka Bank said, “Art connects an individual to the unknown world within us. Visual art, music or any other art form can be achieved only by those who have an extreme vision and skill set to absorb over the years.”
Prashanth Shet recalled how he was brought up being surrounded by art and artefacts which was collected by his father, late M. Raghunath Shet and said that he was proud of the wonderful collection that his father has left for his family.
Shanthamani Muddaiah, senior artist and the Chief Mentor of the workshop said the workshop is meant to respond to nature and landscape, how we look at and narrate it. She also stressed the importance of a cultural dialogue to happen during the workshop. “The coastal belt has a rich cultural heritage that needs to be imbibed and represented in the visual art form,” she said.
President of the Art Kanara Trust, Subhas Chandra Basu welcomed the gathering. Nemiraj Shetty, Secretary of the trust introduced the mentor.
The workshop is supported by Karnataka Bank Ltd. and S. L. Shet Jewellers & Diamond House, Mangaluru.
An exhibition ‘Artistic Encounters – knowing art and its makers’ is being held along with the ongoing workshop. It is brought to Mangaluru by Paradigm Art Foundation with the support of Shenoy Art Foundation, Bengaluru. The works of artists from different parts of the country, including Adip Dutta, Arjun Das, Harish Chennangod, Mani Murugesan, Sanjeev Mirajkar, Shanthamani M., Venugopal V.G. and Vigil are on display. The exhibition is open to the public till January 27 between 11 a.m. and 7.00 p.m. at Kodialguthu Center for Art & Culture.
