The change of guard in the Tourism Department seems to have brought about a change of stand in the government over the adoption of Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG) by Tasveer Foundation, a proposal that has turned controversial.
Minister of State for Tourism Priyank Kharge, who held a meeting with VAG Forum on Friday, told The Hindu that he was taking stock of the situation that had evolved into an impasse. “Artists have submitted me a dossier of critique of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), critique of the plans by Tasveer Foundation, and other such material, which I am studying. Since it is an MoU that the government has signed, we cannot take a call over the issue on a whim. We are looking at legal options to protect the interests of all the stakeholders — the public, artists and Tasveer Foundation,” the Minister said.
Artist Sheela Gowda, who was also part of the Friday’s meeting, said the meeting was a welcome change in the tone of the government’s engagement with artists.
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However, the Tourism Department is non-committal on its stand — whether or not it now want to scrap the entire adoption programme where five other destinations have also been adopted by corporate groups.
Another source said that since it was the artists who were opposed to the idea of adoption and had been demanding scrapping of the MoU, the Department of Kannada and Culture, which is also a signatory to the MoU, may be asked to pull out. Any of the three signatories pulling out will eventually lead to the scrapping of the MoU.