VAG dissenters, don't you want an NGMA?'

Bengaluru: With protests against revamp of Venkatappa Art Gallery gaining momentum, industry experts have questioned the charges raised by protesters. Amid allegations that artists were not consulted before signing the MoU, popular filmmaker and theatre personality Prakash Belawadi expressed concern that the initiative was being unnecessarily attacked.

“With some of the artists alleging that Tasveer Foundation has hidden agenda to privatise the gallery, they should remember that they did not come asking for an opportunity to refurbish the gallery, but it was government which went looking for investors,” he said. He said that there were no protests or ‘movements’ to save the building, which was falling apart, until the MoU was signed.

“People with wrong motives have taken this protest to epidemic proportions and it has become chronic. Why didn’t any of these artists raise their objections, before the Tourism ministry decided to convert the gallery into a tourist attraction? Who is involved in the project is not the issue but what they intend to do is what matters. Artists like S.G.Vasudev are not here to destroy Karnataka. This irrational outrage has to  stop,” Belawadi suggested.

He went on to say that the government and Tasveer Foundation were open for public scrutiny and the Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG) Forum should air their grievances and lay their complaints on the table. “When National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) was overhauled, there was a hue and cry from a section of artists. Now, see how many people are making use of it. The VAG Forum should share their problems and there will always be solutions and negotiations,” he said.

‘Artists should approach government’
The VAG Forum had expressed concerns that turning the gallery into tourism attraction would lead to Tasveer collecting entrance fee. Experts have suggested that the artists can urge the government to give relaxation to artists and put forth their demands, if in the interest of the larger community.

‘Deal lacks transparency’
The members of VAG Forum on Thursday released ‘documents’ to substantiate their claims that the transactions between the government and Tasveer Foundation lacked transparency. Although a press conference was called to prove that the MoU was unilateral, it seemed like the members had reservations about Abhishek Poddar and his non-profit organisation Tasveer instead of the PPP project! What seemed like a one-point agenda, the Forum only maintained that the MoU was signed without the knowledge of Ministry of Kannada and Culture, the mother department of VAG. All their other concerns revolved around Mr Poddar, making it significantly a personal attack.