Raising awareness about art through ‘INTERNATIONAL KALA MELA’

LALIT KALA AKADEMI, the premier institution for the promotion of art and culture is going to organize an International Kala Mela (Arts Festival) wherein artists and groups can showcase their artworks from February 4 - 18. It will be held between 12 pm and 8 pm daily, at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi (IGNCA).

The event was inaugrated by M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, in the gracious presence of Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of Culture, C.S. Krishna Setty, Administrator and Dr Sachchidanand Joshi, IGNCA, on February 4. The inauguration was followed by a folk dance by Karunadasa Olaboduwa dance troupe, Sri lanka and Sargam kathak recital by

pandit Harish Gangani’s team, India

During the Kala Mela different art workshops and activities like Visual Art Film Festival, pottery/pattachitra/ paper mache workshops, best from waste workshop, musical performances, dance dramas, violin making workshop by Sveceny, Czechia, artist gup shup point, nukkad natak, and live performance will be conducted. International performances like violin by Nuno Flores, Portugal; The Troth – Usne Kaha Tha, a story of love and sacrifice in World War I, by Akademi South Asian Dance, UK; Violin by Jaroslav Sveceny Czechia; Yakshangana by Devika Rao, UK; Piano by Nobert Kale, Hungary and Yaa Devi by Devika Dance Theatre, UK will be taking place for the artists and art lovers.

According to the Administrator LKA C. S. Krishna Setty, “This is for the first time that the Akademi has planned the International Kala Mela at such a large scale. With a firm commitment to the art fraternity, the Kala Mela will be a great delight to observe the paradigms of the contemporary nuances of the modernistic trends in art. All in all, it is intended to be first of its kind and a great milestone event”.

More than 800 artists from all across the country have participated in the event. Many embassies and cultural centres have also participated in making this festival an international success.

The central objective of Kala Mela is to focus on the direct interaction between the artist and the connoisseur and also raising awareness about art, which has been the mandate of Lalit Kala Akademi. This comprehensive outreach shall include the participation of national and international level artists/ art critics of repute from all over the globe.