Lalitha Kala Academy to get complete make over

Lalitha Kala Academy to get complete make over

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, May 28, 2012 : C. S. Krishna Shetty, the new chairman of the Lalitha Kala Academy, said that the 50-year-old academy will be re-christened as Drishya Kala Academy and given a complete make over. A proposal for the same will be soon submitted to the state government, he added.

Addressing reporters at a press meet held on Sunday, he said that he plans to introduce several changes into the academy in the next three years after first getting the approval of its 10 members. The first step is to propose a new name for the academy, he said. Giving reasons for the name change, he said that the academy was called Lalita Kala Academy because it initially promoted all forms of art. During the past few years, separate academies were formed for various art forms, owing to which the name of the Lalitha Kala Academy needs to be changed to Drishya Kala Academy as it promotes only fine arts at present, he said.

He said that he will take the help of experts to prepare a vision document, including activities for the academy and its agenda for the following three years.

He also said that an advisory board of five members will be formed to effectively implement the plans. The academy will also launch its new website within 10 days to reach out to more people, he added.

Regarding his plans for the academy, he said that he plans to organize a 5-day art convention, which will include debates, discussion panels, talk shows, and others in cities all over Karnataka. Besides, quiz and fine art competitions will be held for school and college students. He also said that a day will be observed as “Fine Art Day” and art books will be published all over the state.

Further, he said that the academy has already submitted a proposal to the state government to request a hike in the prize money given away to the winners of the annual academy awards. Stating that the government’s annual grant of Rs. 45 lakh is not enough, he said that the state government has been requested to raise this grant to Rs. 2 crore. While the state government has earmarked Rs. 269 crore for art and cultural activities, it has not granted even one percent of this amount for the academy, he said.