Chattisgarh Times
Raipur: In a unique endeavor to promote the budding artists and local artwork— Swami Vivekananda Airport Raipur under Airports Authority of India (AAI)— has conceptualized an Art Gallery at the terminal building to exhibit featuring work by the budding local artists.
Swami Vivekanand Airport (SVA) Raipur Director Rakesh R Sahay said that this is a wonderful initiative which provides the passengers an exposure to the rich culture and handicraft heritage Chhattisgarh. It also facilitates the local craftsperson with a free of cost premium display space.
On the sale of any artwork a nominal token fee of 10 per cent goes to AAI and rest 90 per cent is the artist’s share. Any artist who wants to display his/her creation in the art gallery is given a time period of fifteen days for showcasing his/her creation for the public, he added.
Sahay said that Swami Vivekanand Airport Raipur and Airports Authority of India had floated an expression of interest by means of which many artists applied for display of artwork at the terminal building. Besides, their artwork adds to the beauty of the building and besides being admired by the passengers allowing them to take away a memento and cherishing regional handicrafts—making their Chhattisgarh visit a memorable one.
The Art Gallery was inaugurated on November one with a local budding artist Latika Vaishnav’s “Strokes from the Jungle”. It was a Bastar Painting exhibition which beautifully captured the folklore of Bastar. The exhibition was held from November 1 to November 15, which was followed by yet another art exhibition displaying art and crafts works of differently abled artists. The artworks were displayed by Jan Saamarthya Welfare Society, an organization working for the betterment and upliftment of differently able people.
Apart from painting exhibition various other interesting sessions, including live portrait sketching and Mehandi art sessions were also conducted by the society.
Jan Saamarthya Welfare Society provides vocational training and placement for persons with disabilities.
A spokesperson from said that earlier, we have displayed artworks of differently abled artists in various platforms across the state, but yet we have not got such a great opportunity. Our artists got this great platform to display their artworks to the elite class of the society.
A budding artist said that this is a great platform where we can display and sell our products as well. This is a great initiative by the Raipur Airport Authority and Airport Authority of India, which will encourage the budding artists to showcase their creativity.
An art enthusiast who visited the art gallery said I spent a great deal of blissful time here walking through the gallery looking at the amazing artworks. It is a very good initiative by the airport authorities to promote local artworks and encourage the budding artists.
