Lalitkala Regional Secretary Ramakrishna Vedala said that two young and acclaimed sculptors of the State – P.Bujinga Rao and Kanta Kishore Moharana

BHUBANESWAR: As part of its annual programme of art awareness, city-based Regional Centre of Lalit Kala Akademi, the national academy for fine art, would host Kaladhara – a series of events – commencing on Thursday (October 15). Regional Secretary Ramakrishna Vedala said that two young and acclaimed sculptors of the State – P.Bujinga Rao and Kanta Kishore Moharana – will speak about their works and experiences on the centre premises in Kharavela Nagar on Thursday evening.

“Besides senior artists, we receive a good number of young artists and students of the art colleges in the Kala Pragati and Kaladhara series of art awareness and art appreciation activities at the centre,” said Mr. Vedala. On Friday evening, Durga Prasad Das, former principal of the prestigious Government College of Art and Craft (GCAC), will deliver a lecture on eminent sculptor Bipra Charan Mohanty who passed away recently. Mohanty was the founder-principal of the half-century-old GCAC and was the recipient of Dharmapada Award.The centre will soon announce details of the events slated for the year; Mr. Vedala stated and added that no entry pass was required for the public.
Source: The Hindu Tuesday, Oct 13, 2009

Our surrounding and social concerns have always motivated us to a new high. Kanta Kishore is no exception

Kanta Kishore has picked the popular slum with a different perspective that essentially deals with the core of the subject


Kanta Kishore Moharana represented by Ashok Art Gallery Delhi

Slums in Neighbourhood

Artists are exploring new media and techniques to convince the viewer in the present day. The range of subjects that the artist deals with today is intriguing and relevant. Indian art seems to have transformed from modesty to market and the journey has been interesting too. The turning points of art here depend heavily on the attitude of the artists and what we have noticed is the increase in the intellectual input with passing time. This has carried us forward from the agreement of the narratives in mythology and epics to negotiating society to human awareness of several factors. Our surrounding and social concerns have always motivated us to a new high. Kanta Kishore is no exception.

Kanta Kishore has picked the popular slum with a different perspective that essentially deals with the core of the subject. The effort by the dwellers to construct the beautiful and magnificent in the city remains in the most neglected part of the earth. Their struggle for existence depend on adversities of life and in the process, they sometimes smile up to their success, which is rare, and rest of the times, lament over their survival. In all these conditions, a pair of sleepers perhaps allows them to retain the honour of human while addressing the rough patches leading to life. The chaos of arrangement also depicts the lifestyle of people inhabit. However high or low they might go individually but collectively they remain intact to the nails that bind them to the ground. The insiders story of constructing a world imagined for the other rightly develop the concept of living.

The composition has deliberately caught our concern for the slum and its dwellers. The symbolic is apparent, expressive and transformed; it suggests the simplest of material in high coordination with installation art. The painting complements to the installation by making it look obvious and illustrative. Kanta Kishore has seemingly taken a defensive position in portraying the subject though several aggressive pointers are available to us. The approach to the subject is worth admiration. The awareness to uplift the downtrodden needs more application both politically and socially. The change is coming at a slow pace and it would appear significantly in future. The makeover through the artistic expression is to the concern is remarkable.
Sculpture Review by Dr. Pradosh Kumar Mishra(Art Historian)
Watch out for this growing talent in Art Expo India: Kantakishore Moharana

AlumniBKCAC organized a sketching workshop in the foothill of Khandagiri in Bhubaneswar on the eve of Odiya Nava Varsha (New Year) celebration

AlumniBKCAC organized a sketching workshop, as its second event in the series of Silver Jubilee celebration of the Bibhuti Kanungo College of Art & Crafts, Bhubaneswar. The workshop was planned in the foothill of Khandagiri in Bhubaneswar on the eve of Odiya Nava Varsha (New Year) celebration in the sculpture studio of Saroj Bhanja, a young and enthusiastic sculptor. This workshop was a gathering of the old students and present young artists to develop harmony and co-ordination amongst each other.

The event began with a congregation by the artists that was formally introduced by the president of the alumniBKCAC Adwaita Gadanayak. Subrat Mullick, the secretary of alumniBKCAC vividly projected the programmes that are scheduled to take place through out the year. Sculptor Anjan Kumar Sahoo, joint secretary AlumniBKCAC, invited constructive suggestions from all members, who were present, to make Silver jubilee celebration an extraordinary and special. AlumniBKCAC Executive member Ashok Nayak, who is director of Delhi based Ashok Art Gallery has updated about construction of organization website which is running as beta test now, the members were informed that it would be back with a new and attractive look with lot more features and interactive options. and it will lunch officially on the month May. Another alumni Durga Patnaik has mentioned about a proper documentation of all alumnus in college register which will provide a right information to all the students and as well as to visitors. Executive member M. Sovan Kumar informed about his Mega Art Exhibition project that is coordinated by him for the silver jubilee project.

The formal discussion was followed by a workshop of drawing and painting, wherein the artists present participated. These events were regularly organized and managed by the local alumni in order to make a meaningful presence in the contemporary art field. The events might just seem usual but they carry the emotion of the former students and their commitment towards the art college that has nurtured them to achieve the present feet. This workshop and interaction turned successful with the presence of Kamalakshya Kanungo, Subhranshu Panda, Meenaketan Patnaik, Shyama Prasad Tali, Lipishree Nayak, Ashok Nayak, Rabinarayan Sahu, Saroj Bhanja, Siba Prasad Patri, Rajiv Pradhan, Debadutta Naik, Niroj Satapathy, Harekrushna Ojha, Lalata Kishore Pradhan, Divya Ranjan Rout, Subhadarshi Swain, Lalit Swain, Gautam Sahoo, Satyajit Das, Manas Moharana, Kanta Kishore Moharana, Biswa Ranjan Kar, Satabhama Majhi, Nilanshu Bala Sasmal, Chanda Kishore, Chandra Sekhar Sethi, Smrutikanta Rout, Somanath Rout, Abakash Martha, Gopal Krushna Rath, Niranjan Mangaraj, Niranjan Ojha and Sukant Moharana.

The event was convened by Veejayant Das, member of the alumni and Pratap Jena, Executive member of alumni. The space was provided courtesy Saroj Bhanja which literally fused the environment with artistic ambience.

Nua Barasha - Nua Katha, an open discussion forum on Oriya New Years Day

Dear All

AlumniBKCAC invites you to celebrate Oriya New Year on 14th April 2009 at Saroj Bhanja (Bhanu) Studio

Address: Kolathia Chowk, Near Andhra Bank Khandagiri, Bhubaneswar. from 3pm to 7pm

Wish you and your family A Happy n prosperus oriya new year 2009

AlumniBKCAC

UTKAL DIVAS CELEBRATION 2009

On the occasion of Utkal Divas the alumni BKCAC decided to begin its Silver Jubilee event with Chitra Murchhana: a workshop for students, teachers and friends of BK College, where the 100 feet canvas was commonly painted by the artists on site at the college premises. This event was formally inaugurated by Shri Bijay Jena, Commissioner, Ministry of Culture, Government of Orissa in the presence of Dr. Alekh Charan Sahu, Principal, B K College and Shri Adwaitya Gadanayak, President and Shri Subrat Mullik, Secretary, alumni BKCAC.

100 ft canvas has been streached in the morning of 1st april, more than 200 orissan artists expressed their feelings on this proud moment, senior artists Siba Panigrahi, Kashinath Jena, Gauranga Bariki were part of the event, B.K. Art college current principal A. C. Sahu, Lecturer Jayanta Das, Gajendra Ku Padhi, Meenaketan Pattnaik were also there, Alumni BKCAC president Adwaita Gadanayak, Secretary Subrat Mullick, Joint Secretary Anjan Ku Sahoo, Treserur Tarakant Parida, Executive member Pradosh Mishra, Pratap Jena, Prabir Dalai, Ashok Nayak, Priyadarshini Mohanty were amongst all other present. Senior AlumniBKCAC Vruguram Sahu, Deba Rath, Rajendra Sahu, D.B. Rao, Kamalakshya Kanungo, Janapriya Debata, Rabi bhai, Manjushree, Rosi, Bidutlata and other alumni were there.

The beginning of the event was marked by a chorus of Vande Utkala Janani by young children that impressed the audience. The first event by the alumni BKCAC on the 1st of April, 2009 the independence day of Orissa thus became meaningful and would keep the artists inspiring for long time to comoe.

On the occasion of Utkal Dibas, the alumnibkcac is organising a sketching workshop Chitra Murchhana, at Bibhuti Kanungo College of Art & Crafts

Bibhuti Kanungo College of Art & Crafts, Bhubaneswar, has completed 25 years of its inception. In these twenty five years the college has produced number of students those have brought laurels to the institution through their extraordinary achievement in the field of fine arts. It was the BK College of Art &Crafts that brought in tremendous change in the area of art education in Orissa. It could never have been possible without its dedicated teachers, who besides being great artists proved to be the best art educators. The students in these years have been linked to the college in various capacities, some serving the college as teacher, at present and some are visiting faculties in the post graduate courses, while some are still living in the nostalgia.

In order to participate in the celebration of 25 years, the alumni of the college got together under the aegis of alumnibkcac, to celebrate the silver jubilee event with extensive programmes throughout the year 2009-10. The events, which are presently planned, range from film shows, exhibitions, art interactions, symposium and an international conference on Teaching and Learning in Fine Arts: Pedagogic Challenges among many other short events. Besides these the alumnibkcac has also planned to financially support the upcoming young artists those aspire to grow and need proper guidance and direction.

On the occasion of Utkal Dibas, the alumnibkcac is organising a sketching workshop Chitra Murchhana, at Bibhuti Kanungo College of Fine Art & Crafts, Bhubaneswar on 1st of April 2009. In this event, the old students, present students, teachers of art colleges, connoisseurs and art lovers of the city will participate to mark the occasion. The alumni firmly believe in spreading the aesthetic understanding of the common into extraordinary experience. This is one of the ways; one could involve and interact with the public in meaningful manner, above all the society too needs to develop a taste for the art. The alumnibkcac also is planning to bring to the city, public art as a part of the silver jubilee events and redefine the state of art in Orissa. In recent months artistic activities have proportionately grown in Bhubaneswar and alumnibkcac has contributed substantially to it.

Come, let us join together, the artists and the common man, though we may not build another Konark, but we could dare rebuild and represent our own great tradition of aesthetic value that mark our identity.
Vande Utkala Janani.

Strike ends at Utkal University of Culture

BHUBANESWAR: The city-based Utkal University of Culture is set to re-open on Monday with the withdrawal of the ongoing strike by the staff and the students on Sunday. This development is a follow-up to the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor Sadhu Charan Panda earlier this week.
While the employees of the University had gone for a pen-down strike since January 3 pressing for a “fair deal” from the authorities, the students locked the campus since February 2 demanding due infrastructure, study environment and resignation of the Vice-Chancellor against whom they had levelled a series of charges.
The agitating students have further met the Governor and the UGC chairman in New Delhi over the matter.
Utkal University of Culture students’ union president Kanta Kishore Moharana told The Hindu that the union leaders were invited by the Commissioner of Culture and the registrar of the university on Saturday for a discussion that resulted in withdrawal of the strike. 18 demands
“We have 18 demands and we have obtained a written assurance from the university authorities that they would meet those demands,” he added.
Similarly, the Commissioner and the registrar held a separate discussion with the employees on Saturday following which they agreed to resume their duty on Monday, the leaders of the employees union said.
Source: The Hindu