Culture minister Ashok Panda visits an art exhibition at Buddha gallery in Niladri Vihar on Tuesday.

Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi celebrated its foundation day with the exhibition and felicitation to senior artists of the city.

Artworks of over 70 artists were exhibited at the year-old gallery. Paintings of young artists and veterans were put up with each wall dedicated to a theme. Among the subjects highlighted by the artists were Lord Jagannath, Subhas Chandra Bose, Swachh Bharat and some spaces featured only abstract and contemporary works.

"We are happy that finally the state government has created an art gallery, which had been a long-standing demand of the artists fraternity," said painter Jagdish Chandra Kanungo. He and Ananta Moharana, a veteran artist from Raghurajpur craft village, were felicitated on the occasion.

Text by Namita Panda, picture by Sanjib Mukherjee