CHENNAI: Inside the campus of India’s oldest art institution, a group of students are painting on easels, discussing techniques and themes. In four days, the students who are from various backgrounds, will have ready an exhibition of paintings as part of Varnajal- what they hope could be a new art movement to encourage art patrons and students on a national level.
Seated at a carved wooden table that is more than a century old, senior lecturer V Senguttuvan speaks of the culture of the college. “We still follow the British method of teaching. But we can transform our identity, our Indian identity is always present.”
The 165 year old college has seen many of its students becoming prominent artists and engineers. “This room where I am sitting in has been the home of prominent artists like S Dhanapal and Roy Chowdhury,” says Senguttuvan. The college that began in the colonial era by surgeon Alexander Hunter as a private art school, where artisans engaged in metalwork, woodwork and sculpture. “The clock that you see in the central station was also made here,” says the professor.
The college was soon taken over by the government offering a diploma and then later a graduate degree.
This art camp will see participation from the Master of Fine Arts programme and students from other colleges with backgrounds like architecture, interior design, fashion design and textile design. The college hopes that interaction between the students to help each other and exchange ideas.
In four days, the students will be exposed to art techniques and lectures from artists on art criticism and conservation, besides professional advice on the scenario and market for art in the country, which will help them in their careers.