The 19th edition of Bengaluru's popular street art festival, Chitra Santhe, organised by the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat, will return on March 27 after an online event last year due to the pandemic. To commemorate the 75th anniversary of India's Independence, the theme will be devoted to "freedom fighters."
According to Chitrakala Parishat president B.L. Shankar at a press conference on Wednesday, up to 1,500 artists from across India are expected to participate in the santhe, which will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
From Windsor Manor Hotel up to Shivananda Circle on Kumara Krupa Road and a portion of Crescent Road, stalls will be set up. Live performances will also be given by students from the Parishat's College of Fine Arts. The festival will adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines. "Last year, the santhe was dedicated to corona warriors and was hosted online for two months," Mr. Shankar explained.
Aside from the santhe, selected artists' works will be on display in the parishat's 12 galleries for ten days. Four artists will be honoured with the Chitrakala Samman awards.
While the 17th Chitra Santhe concluded on a high note, the 18th edition was made conducted online due to the pandemic. This year as well, although there was some uncertainty about whether the event would be held physically or virtually, the government has finally given the event the green light to be held offline. The Parishat has decided to abandon the virtual format this year due to the difficulty of managing the event both physically and virtually.
{{/usCountry}}While the 17th Chitra Santhe concluded on a high note, the 18th edition was made conducted online due to the pandemic. This year as well, although there was some uncertainty about whether the event would be held physically or virtually, the government has finally given the event the green light to be held offline. The Parishat has decided to abandon the virtual format this year due to the difficulty of managing the event both physically and virtually.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri, Prasiddha Foundation, founded by dancer Prathibha Prahlad, is organising a cultural festival, 'Eka Aneka,' in collaboration with CKP on March 1.
The Parishath was founded in 1960 on two and a half acres of land leased by the Karnataka government, with initial donations from industrialist HK Kejriwal. Svetoslav Roerich, a Russian artist based in Bengaluru, donated several of his paintings as well as those of his father Nicholas in the early days.
After the death of CKP's founder, Nanjunda Rao, in 2003, a new committee was formed, with DK Chowta as Secretary and MJ Kamalakhshi as Joint Secretary. "Street art was flourishing in Europe, and some of us at CKP had travelled there to see it." "We had a series of meetings to see if CKP could recreate such art festivals once a year," Kamalakshi says. In 2004, Chitra Santhe became a reality.
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