‘Jiri on Canvas’ kicks off

Kathmandu, Sept. 14: A three-day art exhibition ‘Canvasma Jiri’ (Jiri on Canvas) began at NB Centre, New Baneshwor, on Friday.

 The exhibition highlights the natural beauty, lifestyle, culture, architecture and heritage sites of Jiri. 

Jiri is a municipality located in the Dolakha District of Bagmati Province. 

A total of 36 artworks created by six renowned artists are on display. 

These artists created the artworks during the 2nd Jiri Festival held last year.

During the Jiri Festival, the three-day art workshop was also held, and the artworks created during the festival, along with a few new pieces highlighting Jiri, are now being displayed in the exhibition.

Keshav Raj Khanal, Kishor Ranabhat, Liladhar KC, Mohan Shiwakoti, Prakash Mijar, and Shiva Shirpali’s artworks are showcased in the exhibition.

Artist Khanal said, “We spent three days in Jiri and tried to depict the backdrops of this naturally rich and culturally diverse place on the canvases.”

 Once a popular tourist destination, Jiri is now struggling due to depopulation, and the artists aim to promote tourism in Jiri through their artworks, said Khanal.

One of the paintings by artist Khanal features the Jirel Sikri village, a settlement of the Jirel people, an indigenous caste from whom the name of Jiri is believed to be derived. 

The artworks displayed in the exhibition were created using acrylic on canvas and oil paints and highlighted Jirel’s houses and landscape of the settlement intricately.

 Lila Ram Khadka, a tourism entrepreneur from Jiri and the coordinator of the exhibition, said that various programmes are being organised to revive and promote the tourism value of Jiri. 

The exhibition, organised by the Tourism Promotion Forum Nepal, was inaugurated by Deepak Raj Joshi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nepal Tourism Board.

The art exhibition will conclude on Sunday.