Bhubaneswar: A number of veteran artists from across the state, who gathered in the city for an art camp, have called for a national body to regulate art education.
Senior artist R.B. Bhaskaran, who was a part of the camp, said there was an urgent need for a separate regulatory body for art education in India.
"National bodies like All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) or University Grants Commission (UGC) cannot fix the curriculum for art education. We need a separate council that would deal with this course of study just like it is there for other professional courses in the country," he said.
Young artists got a chance to get tips from veterans at Art-In-Industry, an art camp-cum-exhibition, hosted by Tata Steel here. The conclave concluded on Saturday.
The three-day event aimed at promoting and celebrating the pursuit of art by amateurs, professionals and budding young students by bring everyone on a common platform to learn, discuss and practice art.
Bhaskaran who has held a number of positions of repute at art organisations in the country also feels that there is need to upgrade facilities for art education in the tier-2 cities in the country.
"I visited the B.K. College of Art and Crafts here and I found that there was lack of use of technology when it came to imparting art education. There is need to embrace technological advancements to offer quality education. I have seen similar situation in other cities of the country as well. We have to move beyond the metro cities and take art education among larger masses," he said.
Another artist from the state, who is at present based in Shantiniketan, Prashant Sahu, said: "The younger generation needs to be educated in art and history. Art education can take various forms and there is urgent need to garner those so that they grow up to appreciate it," he said.
Sahu said the trends in the field of art keeps changing so there was a need to revise the curriculum in regular intervals.
Senior artist Baldev Gambhir speaking on the similar lines said that there was a need for a marketing course in the field of art.
The 72-year old artist, said: "A number of good artworks remain abandoned as they fail to find buyers. We need to start an MBA course in the field of art where necessary platforms could be created for selling artworks and create a niche market of art connoisseurs."
Coming up against lobbying in the government award system in the country, he said: "Deserving in this country have failed to get their due recognition as their is lobbying going on rampantly. We need to come up with a fair policy."
