Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 15: Minister for Housing, Horticulture and Culture Raman Bhalla today inaugurated 5-day exhibition of the winning photographs of the 4th State Photography Competition organized by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art , Culture and Languages (JKAACL) at Kala Kendra.
The winners of the competition were also presented prizes by the Minister.
Addressing a gathering of artists, poets, photographers and sculptures after inaugurating the Exhibition, Bhalla hailed JKAACL for doing a yeoman’s job in promoting music, art forms, culture and heritage of the State by arranging photo exhibitions, book fairs , cultural and theatre shows.
Secretary JKAACL Khalid Bashir Ahmed, Additional Secretary JKACL Savita Bakshi, eminent personalities, besides artists of different fields were present on the occasion.
Mr. Bhalla said that state has no dearth of art talent as many local artists have made their mark at national level. He called for encouraging the young generation of artists by giving them exposure and extending guidance.
The Minister said photography, besides being an art is a powerful medium of communication as it brings to life a lifeless thing and gives expression to a silent object. He said Camera captures what a naked eye might fail to catch. He said the aim of holding such exhibition was to create awareness among the people about the art of photography.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary JKAACL Khalid Bashir Ahmad said that as many as 89 entries were received by the Academy for the competition. Of these, he informed, the Adjudicating Committee selected 67 entries for the competition.
Disclosing the winners, Khalid Bashir Ahmed said that the first, second and third prize have been bagged respectively by Pooja for her photo titled Purity, Channi Anand for his picture showing man- Animal Conflict and Abrar Ali Wani for his image ‘Devotion’.
The winners of consolation prize include Maqsood Bhat, Mir Sarwar, Mushtaq Assad and Parveen Kumar. All the four would get Rs 1000 each as the prize money.
Earlier, Mr. Bhalla went round the exhibition and evinced keen interest in the paintings. He enquired from the artists about the ideas behind these photography and complimented them for the high quality of artistic creations.
Later, the Minister also distributed State Photography Awards conferred in three categories carrying a cash prize of Rs 15,000, 10,000, and 7,000 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
Apart from the three awards, four consolation prizes of Rs 1000 each are also given annually to the winners.
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