City readies 51 sculptures for installation at key places

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to beautify the city ahead of the men’s hockey World Cup 2023, the city administration here has readied as many as 51 sculptures made of stone, scrap and other materials to be installed at different junctions and strategic locations of the city.
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) joined hands with the Lalit Kala Academy to create the sculptures in two phases. In the first phase, as many as 35 sculptors from across India gathered to make 35 sculptures while in the second phase, 16 artists, including six of foreign origin, came together to make another 16 beautiful installations.
“The artists started their work on the sculptures in the beginning of December. Now the sculptures are ready to be installed at several places of the city. This is the first time that such modern sculptures have been made to be installed in the city. For the first time, artists of foreign origin have been called on to create their masterpieces,” Lalit Kala Academy secretary Panchanan Samal said.
The sculptures have been made using different themes. Some of them have the hockey World Cup as theme while some others are depicting the state’s rich art, culture, tradition and tourist sites. “We have used all kinds of themes. The artists have come up with their own ideas and created the sculptures with their own imagination,” Samal said.
He said the installation of the sculptures will begin in a day or two. “Almost all the junctions and other major strategic locations will have one of the artefacts. The BMC will take care of the installations. It will be done before the commencement of the hockey world cup. It has also been decided to keep the installation in their places even after the world cup,” the secretary said.