A little over three decades ago, 43, Ashutosh Chowdhury Avenue became the hub of Kolkata’s arts scene, with the establishment of the Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA). Since 1993, CIMA has become a cornerstone for bridging the gap between the world’s best creative minds and Kolkata.
February 1 saw the organisation celebrating the pinnacle of Indian art at Taj Bengal, with the CIMA Awards 2025, in association with The Telegraph Online. My Kolkata was in the audience.
The evening kicked off with two special awards: (Top) Pankaj Shah and Minakumari Raste were presented with the Sarbani Kar Lifetime Achievement Award for pioneering craft in Kutch and (below) Jayashree Mohta accepted the felicitation of Birla Academy of Art & Culture as a distinguished art institution of India
CIMA director and managing trustee of the Art & Heritage Foundation, Rakhi Sarkar, gave the introductory speech for the triennial ceremony. “The CIMA Awards are the apple of our eye, acquainting us with the creative strength of young India. The awardees have been selected while maintaining the highest standards of originality and excellence, given how uniqueness and experimentation blend seamlessly at CIMA.”
CIMA director Rakhi Sarkar presented Supriyo Manna with the CIMA Award 2025 for his piece, ‘The Harvest of Trust’. ‘I spent two years researching the plant, ‘Agachha’ for this piece, and tried to weave a conversation with it. I’m grateful that the jury found this work worthy,” he said
The awards received more than 1400 submissions of which, 213 finalists were selected from 22 Indian states. The jury, comprising veterans like Indrapramit Roy, Kunal Basu, Alka Pande and Shreyasi Chatterjee shortlisted the best paintings, sculptures, graphics, installations and new media. These shortlisted artworks are being exhibited at the Academy of Fine Arts (January 31 - February 18) and CIMA Art Gallery (January 31 - February 28).
Chandan Bez Baruah accepted the first runner-up award from ABP Digital editor Aveek Sarkar. ‘This is a blessing from everyone who supports visual art. The award will only motivate me to work with more gusto in the future,” he said
“We especially looked for artworks that made us think. Art that doesn’t offend or ask questions, can’t be called art,” said Roy.
Sougata Das and Kalpana Vishwas were the joint winners of the second runners-up trophy
Pande added, “The CIMA Awards are a fantastic springboard for these artists to get visibility.” Basu further remarked, “We have such a diverse country, with many different Indias living within India. We can confidently say that all the works exhibited by CIMA reflect all of India.”
The evening had two dance performances by Paramita Saha’s troupe, along with a poetry recital by Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee and music by Sukrit Sen
February 1 saw 12 big winners, along with two special awardees. While Pankaj Shah and Minakumari Raste were presented with the Sarbani Kar Lifetime Achievement Award for pioneering craft in Kutch, Birla Academy of Art & Culture was felicitated as a distinguished art institution of India. “While we weren’t comfortable with recognition, Rakhiji felt that our work could inspire others in the craft sector. We want to bring forward India’s traditional arts and crafts to the global stage, and provide due credit to the artisans who work behind the scenes to make this happen,” smiled Shah. “This award wouldn’t have been possible without my parents, who started this initiative as a private collection in their home, and then grew it into an academy,” beamed Mohta.
Paresh Maity was there to present the eponymous Paresh Maity Award to (L-R) Kalpana Vishwas and Arunangshu Roy
Supriyo Manna emerged as the winner of the CIMA Award 2025, for his moving piece titled, ‘The Harvest of Trust’. Chandan Bez Baruah was declared the first runner-up, while Sougata Das and Kalpana Vishwas jointly won the second runners-up award.
(L-R) Avishek Das and Nilmoni Raha accepted the Sanat Kar Special Mention Award
The four merit awards were presented to (clockwise Kamalendu Paul, Rimi Adak, Abhijit Debnath and Sanjay Kumar Jadav
The evening’s vote of thanks was delivered by CIMA’s chief administrator, Pratiti Basu Sarkar. “The participation of these artists is what determines the quality of The CIMA Awards. The jury ensured impartiality and showed great commitment to art. All that CIMA is, comes from our great team,” she said.
