Says he does not mind arguments for cleansing the system
Chairman of Karnataka Lalitakala Academy C.S. Krishna Setty at an interactive session here on Sunday promised to work towards providing a clean and transparent administration. He hoped to have better interaction with people associated with fine arts in his three-year term.
At an interactive session with artists, he said: “My prime task is to clear doubts and misgivings about the academy. There have been several instances of favouritism and corruption,” he said.
Mr. Setty said artists are free to bring instances of corruption to his notice. “If you have complaints about my working then go public. Let there be discussion and interaction between artists and academy. I do not mind if there are arguments.”
Mr. Setty said he was interested in utilising the funds granted by the Government for the development of art and culture, he said.
Artists, including K.P. Shenoy, Dinesh Holla, N.S. Pattar, Punichintaya and Ramesh Rao participated in the programme.
Among the tasks he was taking up was creation of a website of the academy, which will be launched in another 15 days.
When Mr. Pattar pointed about several websites not being updated, Mr. Setty said: “The firm assigned the task of designing and maintaining the website has been told to ensure that the information in the website is updated every fortnight. Otherwise, its contract will be terminated.”
One artist pointed out the absence of any member from the costal and Kodagu region in the Academy for a long time. To this, Mr. Setty said at present there were 10 members of which one member would be removed because of allegations. “I would like you all to arrive at a consensus and propose a member from your region. I will make all efforts that he is nominated,” he said. The academy was considering having honorary convenors at each of the district that had not been represented in the academy.
Asked about the need of a graphic studio in Mangalore, Mr. Setty said the academy would go for such a studio only if there was an assurance that it would be used better. “The graphic studio in Bangalore had remained unused for a long time. Students are not ready to come here even when the academy was willing to pay scholarship. I do not want a similar state here,” he said.
Keywords: Lalitakala Academy
