Actress Rituparna Sengupta with the Golden Brush contest winners. Picture by Aranya Sen

The award ceremony of Golden Brush, an art contest aimed at giving budding talents a boost, was held on January 12 at the Science City auditorium. The event is an initiative of an NGO — The Eye Within. The awards, introduced in 2006, went pan-Indian this year with entries from cities like Nasik and Jaipur. Of the 6000 entries, 130 were shortlisted and displayed at Birla Academy of Art and Culture from December 11 to 16.

Durbananda Jana, a Government College of Art graduate, clinched the Golden Brush award this year. The winner got cash prize worth Rs 100,000. He had got the Silver Brush award last year. “My paintings have been selling well since I received the award,” said Jana.

He has since participated in a camp in Burma with contemporary artists and hopes to do a solo show in Mumbai at the end of this year. The money has come in handy for him. “I was once thrown out of class because I did not have the money to buy colours and a canvas. I want to stock up on enough of those to last me for a long time,” he says. Renting a studio for himself is also on the cards.

While Jana’s painting focussed on the dilemma of choice, Mehtab Molla, a self-taught artist, depicted a dog on a rough landscape, trying to tear away a flower. He received a Silver Brush that carries a cash prize of Rs 40,000. There were three more Silver Brush awardees this year. Five other participants received cash awards of Rs 10,000.

Mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, filmmakers Aparna Sen and Mrinal Sen and Sunil Das gave away the prizes. The Eye Within was one of the first organisations to set up an online portal where paintings could be viewed and bought. “We set up shop in 1995 when the art boom was taking off in India,” informed secretary Gautam Das. This year, the organisers travelled to art colleges across the country to publicise the awards. “The Indian art world is restricted to a few standard names. The market is booming, but there is a dearth of new people. We provide a platform for new talent, while making buyers aware of their existence too,” added Das.

The evening was jazzed up by a dance recital by actress Rituparna Sengupta and a performance by Odissi guru, Giridhari Nayak.