The adoption of the Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG) by Tasveer Foundation is not the first time that private players are part of the gallery renovation.
K.K. Hebbar Art Foundation, set up by the renowned artist in 1991 and now being run by his children after his death in 1996, had spent Rs. 16 lakh in 2004 and renovated the K.K. Hebbar Gallery of the VAG, but sought no administrative control over the gallery, which has been now offered to Tasveer Foundation as part of adoption.
Rekha Hebbar, K.K. Hebbar’s daughter and an artist herself, said the gallery was ill-maintained and had no facilities, which prompted them to invest money to renovate it. “We approached the Kannada and Culture Department, which gave a go-ahead for the renovation. We hired an architect who designed an apt lighting system, flooring and other facilities, giving the space an uplift,” she said.
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However, leave alone acquiring any administrative control, the family had to run from pillar to post for two years to see K.K. Hebbar’s collection restored after the National Gallery of Modern Art loaned the 66 paintings for six months and held three exhibitions in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi to commemorate his birth centenary in 2011 and returned them, the same year.
The VAG administration had stored paintings of another renowned painter, Nicholas Roerich, in the K.K. Hebbar Gallery space following a court order giving the VAG their custody. Ms. Hebbar recounted the time in horror saying that the authorities were non- co-operative and it took them two years to seen the artworks restored for display.