No walk on stretch, Chitra Santhe goes virtual next year

BENGALURU: Chitra Santhe – the popular art exhibition of Bengaluru usually held on Kumara Krupa Road – will go virtual this year because of the Covid pandemic. The State Government and the management of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath (CKP) will hold the festival for a month starting from 
January 3, 2021.

People who wait for the annual exhibition to walk around stalls looking at artworks, touch and feel them and speak to other shoppers will be deprived of the physical festive spirit this time. However, they can still visit the stores virtually, bargain and interact with the artists. 

CKP president B L Shankar said here on Saturday that the art exhibition will be digitally held for the first time, keeping in mind the safety of the people. “Normally, the Santhe is held only for a day, but this time since it is virtual, it will be a month-long event. Each artist will be given a dedicated page, details of which will be available on the CKP website. People will be able to see the artwork, make enquiries, bargain and interact with artists to make purchases. Last year, sale of over Rs 2 crore was made at the exhibition. But this time, it will be difficult to know the sale estimate as it is online,” he said.

This is the 18th edition of Chitra Santhe and the event is dedicated to the services of corona warriors. Around 1,500 artists from different parts of India and other countries have shown interest in participating in the online Chitra Santhe. Unlike the previous Santhes, where the platform was open to showcase all kinds of artworks, this time it will be limited only to paintings. Each artist will have the opportunity to showcase at least 10 pieces of their work on their page at any given point of time.

Also eight categories are being created for choosing artists – self, professional, institutions, senior citizens and physically-challenged. Contemporary artwork and traditional paintings of Myuru, Tanjore, Rajasthani and Madhubani styles, among many others, will be available at the Santhe. Apart from the art exhibition, D Devaraja Urs Award, H K Kejrival Award, M Aryamurthy Award and Y Subramanyaraju Award known as ‘Chitrakala Samman’ will be conferred on four artists along with a cash component of Rs 50,000 and a citation. 

A national award in the name of Prof M S Nanjunda Rao, Founder Secretary of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, will be conferred on a senior artist with a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh and a citation. Shankar said that apart from the month-long online festival, the 10 galleries in CKP will also showcase the works of 100 artists from Karnataka and across the globe.

These will be special invitees, comprising first-timers and eminent artists. A list of these artists is being prepared to send out invitations. Also the artists who will showcase their artworks will be finalised by a committee comprising principals of morning and evening college, eminent artists and technology experts. 
The application form for participation in the Santhe is available on the website of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.