National Fine Arts exhibition begins

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 30: The ‘National Fine Arts Exhibition-2080’ has kicked off in Kathmandu. Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Sudan Kirati inaugurated the exhibition at the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts on Monday. 

Addressing the inaugural session,  Minister Kirati said that art is not just for entertainment but an integral part of life. He highlighted the importance of developing art for the prosperity of Nepal and called for the revival of art and culture in every corner of the country.

Naradamani Hartmchali, Chancellor of the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), announced that following the exhibition, a fine art conference would be organised in the last week of June. The conference aims to gather suggestions, which will shape the policies for the future, he added. 

 Hartmchali expressed his belief that the destiny of Nepal would be determined by art, language, literature, and music.

The exhibition features a total of 695 artworks contributed by 609 artists. These artworks were selected from 755 submissions by 653 artists.

The exhibition will be held in two different locations this year. 

Artworks belonging to the folk art and traditional painting will be displayed at the Nepal Art Council while modern paintings, Vastu (a traditional architectural concept), other creative arts, handicrafts, traditional sculpture, and modern sculpture will be exhibited at NAFA.

 During the programme, the prestigious ‘Araniko National Fine Arts Award’ was presented to Madan Chitrakar and Man Bahadur Dong.

Each of them received a purse of Rs. 100,000.

Likewise, Nagendra Prasad Paudyal and Narayan Prasad Dhungana were presented the ‘National Fine Arts Writing Award’ and ‘National Fine Arts Journalism Award’, respectively, each carrying a purse of Rs. 25,000.

 Sangeeta Thapa was presented the newly established art promotion award by the academy, and Anil Chitrakar was recognised as the goodwill ambassador of the exhibition.

This year, the ‘National Fine Arts Award’ was presented to Uddhavraj Rimal in the contemporary painting category, Raj Prakash Tuladhar in the traditional painting category, Binay Rimal  in architecture and other creative arts, Gyani Raja Bajracharya in the handicraft category, Namrata Singh in the folk art category, Jeroma Maharjan in the traditional sculpture category, and Rishita Khatri in the contemporary sculpture category.

 Each recipient of the National Fine Arts Award received a cash prize of Rs. 60,000.

 Additionally, 13 other artists received the ‘Fine Arts Special Award’, with each awardee receiving Rs. 25,000.

Various art discussions will take in the exhibition will continue until June 13.