VadFest 2015, a three-day cultural festival, opened in Vadodara on Friday, with yet another controversy , after a Dubai-based artist Akbar Saheb had to withdraw his paintings on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Saheb arrived in Vadodara on Thursday with 12 paintings on Mr. Modi and two others on Mahatma Gandhi. But he was told that he could not display them at the festival.
“My paintings were going to be showcased in the Indian Contemporary Art segment. But one of the organisers called to say they would not be exhibited as some famous painters had threatened to pull out if my work was included. They expressed concern that such a situation would bring disrepute to VadFest. I was shocked as I had come with my team. However, my intention was not to harm the reputation of the festival, so I withdrew,” he told The Hindu on the phone.
In an email invite to Mr. Saheb, VadFest director Amit Bhatnagar had written: “My email was clearly an invitation. You are more than welcome to visit VADFEST during January 23-26. A separate gallery seems difficult to find in such a short time. So we can display 1 or 2 works.”
VadFest secretary Amit Patel denied that artists had threatened to withdraw because of Mr. Saheb’s work. “He approached us three months ago, but his paintings had not gone through the final selection process, and he was never linked up with the curator. His paintings did not fit our theme for the fine arts segment,” he told The Hindu .
