India Art Summit sponsor Rajshree Pathy has big plans for new art institute in India

ART EDUCATION MUSEUM INDIA

The Hindu newspaper reports that art collector and co-sponsor of the India Art Summit, Rajshree Pathy is to open an art institute and museum of contemporary art in Coimbatore India by 2011. She has named the entire venture Contemplate. She says:

The art institute will have post-graduate, under-graduate and short certificate courses. We will have a world-class faculty, including those from abroad, and will focus on all kinds of media separately – visual art, video, audio, digital, new media, et al.”

The museum will display works of contemporary artists. To begin with, it will have works mounted from her own collection, from Raza to Rameshwar Broota and Souza to Chintan Upadhyay.

Rajshree Pathy, art collector and co-sponsor India Art Summit

Big plans, big stakes and a big venue says The Hindu but points out that Coimbatore is a city that has had little exposure to art. Rajshree replies rather contemplatively, “Coimbatore is a university area with over 100,000 students. It is peaceful – a must to think and produce art.”

Moreover, the course fees, she promises, will be “very affordable”. “My intention is to spread awareness of art to the masses. Today, our students don’t even know who Raja Ravi Varma is, forget contemporary artists. On the other hand, abroad, even small children are aware of Picasso. This is because art teaching has not been taken seriously at the primary level. We have IT, engineering and medical colleges, but how many art institutes do we have? There is nothing called art journalism in India. Courses on art as a business, how to curate art shows, art appreciation and its aesthetics; there is so much to explore for an art student.”

Discussions on affiliation with foreign faculties are on, and Contemplate is likely to be “fully operational” by 2011. “With a residential programme as an added feature, we also plan to expand to other cities,” says a smiling Rajshree.

Source: The Hindu

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