The
Venkatappa Art Gallery Located on Kasturba Road, one of the few spaces in the city for artists to display their work, has been lying in disrepair for days. The concerned authorities are not taking any interest in maintaining the historic art gallery established in 1967.
The gallery is located next to the Industrial and Technological Museum in Visvesvara. It attracts art lovers and tourists from all over Karnataka and other places. Often, works were exhibited, artists performed, and citizens frequented the gallery to catch a glimpse of the goings-on. The world of art.
However, over the years the Venkatappa Art Gallery has been lying in a state of neglect; The place is slowly falling into disrepair due to improper maintenance. Art comes under the gallery category Archaeology, the museum and traditions; Not much has been done of late to maintain the gallery.
Furthermore, the artistes pointed out that when Covid-19 hit, they were not allowed to perform – even after the pandemic, when everything returned to normal, the space was not open for the artistes.
After many discussions and demands, the artist Parmesh Jolad Performed with few citizens present. Zolad said that when some artists went to perform at the gallery after the lockdown, they were told that the facility was closed for repairs; But nothing has been done yet.
Jolad further said, “This problem has been going on for the last three years. We have complained several times about the poor condition of the area but no action has been taken.
There is only one spotlight; Artists have to act with a light. The lift has become non-functional which is problematic for senior citizens. The interior and exterior walls are discolored. Internal switch boards are broken. This space was created for artists to display their work and practice art, but it has been largely neglected.”
Sridhar Agala Venkatappa Art Gallery Forum noted that no repair work had started and the gallery was as it was in pre-Covid times: “It seems the government has deliberately left it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sunita Kumar In We Love Caban Park, the gallery square points to the dried-up pond. “The ponds are not getting water; They are drying up. Horticulture Department holds water Bal Bhavan. Water is not coming from the padma pond of Bal Bhavan to the pond. littering around the art gallery’s backyard; Even cement stone is damaged. The grasses are getting wild and need trimming. Some old rusted geysers and metal rollers lie on one side. The place has not been kept clean for a long time.”
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Gallery Forum is now raising the issue on social media platforms to save the gallery.
Meanwhile, Bangalore Mirror has contacted the Commissioner of Archaeology, Museums and Department tradition, Devaraju A. He said: “I am aware of the problem with the art gallery and have sent an engineer to check the problem. A detailed project report will be prepared and submitted to the Tourism Department. I also spoke to the tourism department and got a positive response from them to resolve the issues. We lack funds. We need funds exclusively to run the entire work of Venkatappa Art Gallery. But we will carry out all the work with the funds we have at the moment.”
When asked why artistes were not being allowed to perform, he said: “There is water on the walls; This can be risky for artists. So we want to finish all the work and open at once.”
