Allegations don’t bother me: Laxman Aelay

Ever since its conception in 2012, the art@telangana trust has released books, hosted art camps and most important of all, has been dragged into controversies. Amidst all the storm, one man has remained calm throughout — artist Laxman Aelay — the trustee of the outfit.

“It doesn’t matter anymore... Initially, I used to feel bad, but now I’ve learnt to not let it bother me,” he says. Back in the city after a trip to New York, Aelay says, “We went to New York for the launch of our book at the Rubin Museum of Art. Before anyone says anything, let me clear this, the trip was paid by one of our sponsors and as a trustee, I had to be present.”

And the trip was a success. “We’ve had a few curators coming down to the city to choose artists for shows. The curators and artists there were impressed by our works... Most of them were surprised that Telangana had such a huge treasure of art.” As the conversation about the “non-profit private trust” gets going, one can’t help but bring up the allegations flung at the organisation in the recent past, including the one being how Aelay is one of the few who gets to go on all these “foreign trips”.

“I’m a trustee and it is my duty to go on these trips. Also, the government doesn’t give us any money; we have sponsors who pay for us. When it comes to helping, the government gives us space to host our events,” he says, adding, “Moreover, we can’t take all the artists on trips abroad. If there is a show, the person hosting it and the artists chosen by the committee will go abroad.”

With talks of reviving the Lalit Kala Akademi, Aelay is more than happy to help. “We have sent a memorandum to the government; we definitely want a trust to come up. Close to 700 artworks of famous Telangana masters are lying on the floor at the Telugu University and no one cares about those. If the academy comes into play, the paintings can be restored and put up somewhere,” he says.

So, what’s the future plan of the trust? Would their work clash with that of the Akademi if it comes up? “No, we work as a separate entity. The academy would offer a place for artists to paint etc. but the trust doesn’t do anything like that. We want to document the artworks of Telangana artists; that’s our main aim,” he says.