Darjeeling Summer Art Show

Darjeeling: Hill artists never had it this good.

This year’s Summer Art Show, an annual exhibition organised by local artists, has attracted a record number of buyers.

“On the first day (May 28), we sold 17 exhibits and in total 25 works have been bought. The sales figure has gone up this year and even the number of buyers has increased,” said Chendup Lepcha, an artist. The event will end tomorrow.

The figure stands at Rs 1.5 lakh with a day to go, said Lepcha, which is double the amount earned during earlier exhibitions.

Most of the 20 or so artists who took part in Summer Show 2007 have no formal training.

“People have become more receptive to art,” said Ashok Moktan, the secretary of Darjeeling Himalayan Art Academy, an association of hill artists, which organises the exhibition. This year’s buyers came from various walks of life and all are from Darjeeling town, he added.

The association is still unhappy about the lack of support from the Bengal government and the DGHC. “Twelve years ago, we started this academy with almost 50-60 artists. However, absence of financial help has pushed most of them into oblivion,” said Moktan.

“All political parties talk about preserving culture. It is the most important political issue in the hills. Yet, when it comes to promoting art, no one comes forward,” the secretary added. “If nothing, they can at least set up an art institute here.”

Lepcha said even the schools in town, where art is taught as a subject, do not send their students to the exhibition. “Yet I was inspired to become an artist when I attended such an exhibition during my school days,” he said.

This year, for the first time, Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi had inaugurated the exhibition in a ceremony attended by the Who’s Who of Darjeeling.

The artists are making rapid progress despite the hurdles. “Our forte is realistic art, but a number of artists are now using modern techniques, like etching, to be in tune with modern demands,” said Moktan.

Source: The Telegraph