Artists call for new ways to look at art

JUN 26 -

Nepal-Bharat Library, a place usually filled with book lovers and researchers, was full of art experts, critics and lovers last Thursday who were there to participate in the first volume of Art Talk.

The programme, organised by the library, was inaugurated by chief guest H E Jayant Prasad, Indian Ambassador to Nepal. It included a panel discussion with Sujan Chitrakar, head of Kathmandu University, Centre for Art and Design; Sangeeta Thapa, founder-director of Siddhartha Art Gallery; Ashmina Ranjit, interdisciplinary visual artist; Om Khatri, sculpture and head of Nepal Association of Fine arts; and contemporary artist Manish Lal Shrestha. The talk was based on Nepali art and artists and how they are being received by global audiences. It also focused discussions on contemporary Nepali art’s status within the country and how it can be promoted in Nepal.

Speaking at the programme, art curator Thapa stressed on how Nepali art and artists have been Kathmandu-centric. “We don’t have resources to take art related work out of the valley,” said Thapa.

Additionally, she shared her experiences of working within the art scene in Nepal for the last 25 years and cited the 10 year insurgency and an absence of art critics as reasons for slow growth in this area.

Shrestha, on the other hand, shared his experience of exhibiting in the US. “In many countries, Nepal is known only for its natural beauty and we need to break through this hackneyed perspective. I believe this exhibition was quite effective in doing so,” added Shrestha.

“In 2003, there were only three art galleries in Mumbai, but now, there are over 50,” said Shrestha, highlighting the stunted growth of galleries in the country. “Here, the number has been constant for over a decade.”

In order for the Nepali art scene to boom, Shrestha commented, artists must maintain their own status, which is possible only by raising the general public’s interest in art. “Art has to be groomed locally and the maximum number of buyers should be from Nepal.”

Artist Ranjit said that the uninspiring education system and overall cultural upbringing are factors responsible for preventing art from flourishing here. “In Nepal, people perceive only paintings and scriptures as ‘art’. We have, unfortunately, been unable to see beyond that.”

Programme facilitator Chitrakar also pointed out how the country lacks a separate and well managed house for art. Meanwhile, Khatri stressed on the ineffectiveness of individual effort for the preservation and development of art at the bureaucratic level. 

The ideas generated by Art Talk Volume I clearly indicate that the way art is perceived and received by artists as well as Nepali society need a shift in perspective if it is to prosper.

Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/06/26/entertainment/artists-call-for-new-ways-to-look-at-art/356179/