A Shanthiniketan in the making in Mavelikkara

Mavelikkara: The arrival of noted artist Vasudevan Akkitham will mark the start of the next round of creative interaction at Raja Ravi Varma Centre of Excellence for Visual Arts in Mavelikkara. Mr Akkitham, a Fullbright scholar, did his MA from the Royal College of Art, London. The first round of interaction culminated with the sessions with Prof Indra Pramit Roy, a Bengali artist and faculty at Maharaja Sayajira University Conceived as a national level academic institution under the University of Kerala, the centre was inaugurated by the university vice-chancellor Dr P. K. Radhakrishnan on April 27 this year. The centre’s postgraduation course in art history is a first in the state. It hosts a series of visiting faculty programmes for students, public discussions, screening films on art and slide show presentations with co-operation of many Malayali and non-Malayali artists and intellectuals.

 

Mr K. K. Muhammad, a senior artist and scholar based in Baroda, has conducted a workshop in painting for a month. “While many of the famous art institutions in the country have reached its saturation point, Raja Ravi Varma Centre of excellence promises hope to the art fraternity. The university shall realise its importance and relevance and help in growing it into an international study centre for visual arts,” Mr Muhammad said.

 

Prof Indra Pramit Roy said that a centre for excellence was a unique space especially in the field of art education. “It deserves careful and sensitive administration that is open to possibilities and sensitive to nurture it into a future where it can truly justify its nomenclature. The vision and efforts of the present director needs support for it to fructify.” 

 

The centre also organises evening discussions and film screenings for the public. Benoy P. J. recently gave a talk on the crisis in art criticism in a socialist cultural scenario, from the vantage point of contemporary identity politics and new social movements. 

 

Vibin George, a promising young artist, presented his artistic engagements with the homeless people from Ahmedabad who were evicted recently as a part of urban development and beautification project of the Gujarat government.