The First ever International Kala Mela was inaugurated by the Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi on 4th February 2018.
- The venue for this International Kala Mela is the premises of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Janpath, New Delhi.
- The International Kala Mela has been organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi in partnership with IGNCA of the Ministry of Culture.
- The eminent dignitaries present at the occasion were the Minister of State for Culture (I/C) and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr Mahesh Sharma, the Administrator of Lalit Kala Akademi, Shri C.S. Krishna Setty etc.
Highlights of the Mela
- The Kala Mela will remain open for public from 4th to 18th February 2018 between 12 noon and 7.30 p.m. daily.
- More than 800 artists from across the world are taking part in the Festival.
- The First International Kala Mela provides an open forum to all the creative artists of the country and abroad.
- The basic objective behind this Mela is to promote Art and Culture, wherein artists and groups can showcase their artworks.
- Some of the countries taking part in the Mela are China, Venezuela, Peru, Portugal, Srilanka, Poland, Tunisia, Mexico, Bangladesh, Trinidad, Tobago, Fiji, France, Papua New Guinea, Czechia, UK, Spain and Brazil.
- There are around 325 stalls for Indian artists and organisations including International representations.
- The inauguration was followed by folk dance performed by various dance groups.
- This is for the first time that the Akademi has planned the International Kala Mela at such a large scale.
- It is going to prove a boon to especially those artists who cannot afford to exhibit their works of art in the Art Galleries.
About Lalit Kala Akademi
- Lalit Kala Akademi, National Academy of Art, New Delhi was set up by the Government of India as an autonomous body, on 5th August 1954.
- The Akademi was given statutory authority in 1957, under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
- Since its establishment it has been serving the entire country by promoting the creative endeavours of Indian artists and bringing their arts to bear upon a large number of people, thereby playing an important role in defining and redefining, the sensibility of an entire culture, falling under the visual arts spectrum.
