Copal Art Activities
The following are the activities that have been initiated and undertaken by Copal Art. Fellowships While Contemporary Art in India has expanded, art criticism and historical scholarships have not kept pace with it. To bridge this gap, to encourage younger generation to professionalize in these areas and to commemorate pioneers in this field, Copal Art has instituted fellowships for Art Criticism and History. There are 11 fellowships of Rs. 100,000 each for a period of one year for persons below 35 years of age. The fellowships instituted by us are as follows: Mulkraj Anand Fellowship J. Swaminathan Fellowship Krishna Chaitanya Fellowship Jaya Appaswamy Fellowship Nissim Ezekiel Fellowship Rudy Van Lyden Fellowship Richard Bartholomew Fellowship S. Krishnan Fellowship A. S. Raman Fellowship Charles Fabri Fellowship Karl Khandwala Fellowship Young Artists Exhibition Copal would be organising an annual exhibition of young artists in India. Copal has proven artists as Regional Commissioners in different regions for selecting artworks and artists for the show. It would showcase some of the most outstanding artists and art trends of the younger generation of India. Copal Dialogue Copal is organising a series of lectures by experts and knowledgeable lovers of art. The speaker would talk on any single piece of art explaining its aesthetic dynamics and value, the creative process, meanings etc. These talks will be compiled by Copal in a book titled ‘Looking at Art’. It could be an important contribution to contemporary reflection on art in India. The entire series is being video graphed and Lok Sabha TV Channel is telecasting it.
The Copal Book of ‘Art and Wealth’ is being put together by Shri Ashok Vajpeyi, an eminent poet critic and artlover. It would contain, besides practical information about investment in art, a selection from the writings about art by eminent artists and art experts. It could serve as a guide book on contemporary art and aesthetics. The Book argues that finally in our times Indian art has emerged as enduring both in aesthetic and economic senses. The book anthologises views on art from all over the world and critical remarks on and by Indian artists. Copal Books on important Art Institutions beginning a book on Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal by Shri Dhruv Shukla. Copal plans a series of books on J. J. School of Art, Shantiniketan, Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda etc. Copal Art has been consistently promoting better and critical understanding of art. It has instituted a fellowship named after the great arthistorian and theorist Ananda Coomarswamy to be awarded for a year to an eminent person to write on his/her chosen aspect(s) of art. The first fellow is the internationally acclaimed filmmaker and intellectual Kumar Shahani. Copal Art has been supporting modestly important literary and intellectual pursuits. It provided financial assistance to Max Muller Bhavan towards organising the 80th birth anniversary celebration of Prof. Lothar Lutze of Berlin and Heidelberg, one of the most eminent scholars and promoters of Hindi Literature from Germany. Copal Art provided financial assistance towards a FestivalcumSeminar of Performing Arts organized in Delhi to commemorate the contribution of the dancercumconnoisseur Keshav Kothari. Copal Art organized in Delhi birthday celebrations of Sayed Haider Raza, the Parisbased Indian master of modern Indian Art which also featured poetry recordings and release of two books. A Danielou was a Frenchman who is widely acknowledged as one of the most respected scholars on Indian art, music and ideas. Copal Art joined the French Embassy to sponsor an International Seminar in Indian International Centre, New Delhi to explore the various aspects of the life, vision and intellectual and creative efforts of seminal significance of this scholarcumartist specially with reference to Indian culture, philosophy, music and art. ‘Looking at Art’ is an important initiative of Copal Art, unique in approaches that exist and are possible in the current art scene. Kumar Shahani (film), Dilip Chitre (literature), Dr Geeti Sen (art history), Manasij Mazumdar (art criticism), Ranjit Hoskote (poetry and art criticism), Prof. Rajeev Lochan (artist and Director NGMA), Prayag Shukla (literature and artcriticism), Yashodhara Dalmia (art criticism), Sadanad Menon (art journalism) and Ashok Vajpeyi (poetry and criticism) have featured in this series. Works of Vivan Sundaram, Tyeb Mehta, Manjit Bawa, Ratnabali Kant, Atul Dodiya, K G Subramanian, J Swaminathan, F N Souza, Bhupen Khakhar and S H Raza have been discussed with enthusiastic audience participation. Coinciding with the annual Indian visit of Shri S H Raza Copal Art organized an informal evening with 4 masters ‘Master Artists Meet’ featuring relaxed and informed conversations with Raza, Ram Kumar, Krishen Khanna and Akbar Padamsee. It was eagerly attended by many artists and art lovers of Delhi. In keeping with its policy of promoting art in various public spheres, Copal Art financially supported poetry and literary readings in Delhi International Arts Festival through an Indian Poetry Festival and Delhi Internatioonal Literature Festival featuring eminent writers from all over the globe as well as India in New Delhi in 2007 and 2008.
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Copal Art provided Abhinav Rangmandal, Ujjain financial assistance to organize a three days’ event consisting of seminars and readings devoted to Ashok Vajpeyi’s poetry, criticism, cultural vision and institutionmaking. It was attended by a large number of writers, artists, academics, cultural activists etc. Copal has also supported a prominent Hindi journal ‘Katha’ of Allahabad which is devoted to literature and ideas.
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