Bhubaneswar: The Artist Federation of Odisha for Disaster Philanthropy, a non-profit organisation working for the artists’ welfare, Sunday organised a virtual conference titled Indian Art and How Artists can overcome the pandemic crisis?
Attending the webinar, Adwaita Gadanayak, the Director General of National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA)- New Delhi, a the premier institute in the country that houses modern and contemporary Indian art, said NGMA was going to have its branch in Bhubaneswar soon to encourage fresh talents.
Pinaki Mishra, Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Puri attended the conference as chief speaker while Dibya Shankar Mishra, Minister Home, Energy, Industries, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Government of Odisha was also present on the occasion along with many other contemporary artists.
While it is difficult for a freelance artist to survive given the tough competition in the art field, the pandemic has only added to the woes, said the experts. The emerging artists now stare at uncertain future whereas the established ones have no choice but to recalibrate their system of works.
Most of the speakers were unanimous on the fact that COVID-19 has badly hit the artisans, especially those live in heritage craft village Raghurajpur in Puri district. They are now struggling to meet ends after the tourism sector came to a standstill following the imposition of the lockdown. Many artists are now seeking greener pastures in other sectors, said one of the participants.
The artists placed a few demands before the MP and the minister to help them survive the crisis. Their demands included – free provision of raw material required to make pattachitras, financial assistance to the artist families to manage their livelihood during corona crisis, inclusion of senior artists in various social security schemes launched by the government and financial support to the artists’ children for their education.
MP Mishra assured to take up the issues with the concerned Ministry and try to facilitate special grant for the artists of Raghurajpur while Minister Mishra said that the state government has already started disbursing artist pension for four months at a time in advance in view of the pandemic. There is a need to utilise technology to promote state’s traditional art and focus on online marketing of art products, he added.
Gajendra Prasad Sahu, Secretary Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi, Panchami Manoo Uki, Chairperson Ila Panda Centre for Arts, contemporary artist Jagannath Panda and art historian and curator Rajashree Biswal were among others who took part in the virtual seminar.
PNN