The Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University has opened its sub-centre here on Wednesday with an art appreciation and practice workshop.
The sub-centre has started functioning from the Mahavir building located near the Santhi Niketan School in Tagore Nagar, Vazuthacaud here.
The newly-opened sub centre is part of the Kerala Kalamandalam’s efforts to widen its functioning and to expand education in traditional art forms throughout the state. The official inauguration of the sub-centre will be conducted in June.
More such centres will be opened across the state in the near future, P N Suresh, Vice-Chancellor of the university, and Pandalam Sudhakaran, executive board member, said here. The sub-centre has been opened with the approval of the State Government and will be expanded as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations. Two more sub-centres of Kalamandalam will be opened shortly at Kathakali village of Ayroor, Pathanamthitta, and Aavoor, Alappuzha. There are also plans to open sub-centres at Kannur and Kottayam districts.
The aim of the sub-centres is to introduce authoritative academic courses in art forms so as to improve quality in this field as well as to create more employment opportunities for teachers of these art forms. In the first phase, a one-year art appreciation certificate course in classical music will get underway from next week. A few more seats are available to the course.
Candidates above the age of 12 and with basic knowledge in classical music are eligible for the course. The classes will be held in two batches, one during daytime and another in the evening. A total of 16 hours of classes will be conducted in a month.