Governor of Maharashtra felicitates 47 National Award winners at 132nd All India Annual Art Exhibition hosted by Bombay Art Society
· The exhibition will be on display from 28th February to 4th March at Jehangir Art Gallery.
· 1300 entries from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka
The Bombay Art Society, one of the oldest non-profit art institutions in the Asian subcontinent hosted their 132nd All India Annual Art Exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai on 27th February 2024. The grand event was graced by Hon Shri. Ramesh Bais, Governor of Maharashtra along with popular actor and Padmashree awardee Shri. Mohan Joshi. Also present at the event was Shri Rajendra Patil, President of the Bombay Art Society and other dignitaries.
The art exhibits will be on display at Jehangir Art Gallery from 28th to 4th March 2024. Over 47 scholarships to upcoming artists at its 132nd All India Annual Art Exhibition were awarded from 1300 entries from various cities in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Delhi, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat.
Hon Shri Ramesh Bais Governor of Maharashtra shared, “It is a great feeling being present at the illustrious Bombay Art Society’s 132nd Annual event. I am happy that I could see a lot of artwork from budding artists from across the country who have taken part in this prestigious exhibition. Being a sculptor myself, I feel like I am with my family. The awards given to the upcoming artists will surely help inspire them to pursue their skills in art. I hope schools and colleges really push for the promotion of arts in their curriculum which can create a new generation of artists.”
Rajendra Patil, President of The Bombay Art Society shared, “The 132nd All-India Annual Art Exhibition has been an important showcase in the calendar of visual arts events in the country. The Bombay Art Society has been awarding young and budding artists since its inception in 1888. Over the years, our annual showcase has provided a key platform to artists from across the country to exhibit their works and also provide scholarships to deserving artists to ensure that they keep working on the craft. We received over 1300 entries from places like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and more. We are seeing a change in trend where artists from smaller cities and towns are coming to the forefront of the Indian Art universe.”
Surabhi Kanchan Gulwelkar, who works with Oil on Canvas bagged this year’s Bendre-Husain scholarship whereas Ganesh Kalaskar, an artist working with acrylic and oil on canvas bagged The Sandhya Misra Scholarship. The Sangita Jindal Scholarship was presented to sculptor Yogendra Kumar Maurya for his works in bronze.
Popular actor and Padmashree awardee Shri. Manoj Joshi said, “I am grateful to be part of this wonderful initiative by BAS. We can imagine the long history of BAS, who have been working diligently towards spreading awareness for Aart. Even if AI is gaining popularity, it won’t take over the thought process and skills of a human mind and new art will be created.”
The Bombay art society has started Roopdhar Lifetime Samman in the field of visual art since last Nineteen years. This year, distinguished sculptor Late Uttam Pacharne has been conferred with Roopdhar lifetime achievement award which carries citation and one Lakh rupees cash as a token of love. The Roopadhar lifetime achievement award was conferred to family members of Late Uttam Pacharne at the time of inauguration of the annual art exhibition.
Vaibhav More’s sculpture in basalt stone attracted the judge’s attention, and was awarded the Governor’s Award which carries rupees one lakh in cash and certificate. The Bombay Art Society gold medal which carried rupees fifty-one thousand cash, certificate and gold medal was given to Vaibhao Athaley for his splendid water colour on canvas. The artworks of Sanghpal Mhaske, Mangesh Kumbhar, Aniket Gujare, Vivek Kumar Sahani, Vaibhav Gaikwad, Tanmay Banerjee and others submitted for the exhibition outshine and own them various awards which were presented at Jehangir Art Gallery. This year the award-winning entries include artists from various cities in Uttar Pradesh, uttrakhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and more whereas art students who won awards are from many cities in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka and other states.
The BAS annual art exhibition started in 1888, the only art exhibition in India held continuously for 135 years is considered as the talent hunt contest in the country. The select artworks were hand-picked from total 1300 entries received from all over India through highly refined selection process involving art experts at every stage of selection are presented in this exhibition. The artworks of four scholarship awardees are also displayed in the exhibition.
