Lalit Kala Akademi celebrates 64th Foundation Day

New Delhi : Having completed 64 years as a promoter of the visual arts, the Lalit Kala Akademi observed its Foundation Day here on Monday, amid launch of a book on eminent artist Ganesh Pyne.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma said that the Akademi has been serving art for 64 years consistently with the same quality and style of working as it was when it was established.

Inaugurated on August 5, 1954, the institution was set up by the Indian government to build a national and cultural identity.

In addition to giving scholarships and awards, it displays works of emerging as well as renowned artists at its Lalit Kala collections.

It currently has regional centres in Delhi, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata and Lucknow.

The event also saw the launch of book "A Painter of Eloquent Silence" on modernist painter Ganesh Pyne.

Authored by art scribe Pranabranjan Ray, the book is a biographical work on the painter's life and works. It is co-published by the Akademi and Akar Prakar art gallery.

The celebration concluded with a music performance by flautist Chetan Joshi and a clay modelling demonstration by Akademi's chairman Uttam Pacharne.