Mumbai: The flair of fine art shall remain shrouded this academic year, or so has been decided by the protesting students at JJ School of Arts. Fine arts students, on Friday, shunned their classrooms and carried their classwork to campus grounds, protesting the lack of infrastructure and permanent professors within the college.
Unsatisfied with the response they got from higher ups, the students, on Tuesday, decided to withdraw their artwork from 'Rajya Kala Pradarshan' or the state art exhibition which is to be held in January 2023, in Pune.
The irony being, a Fine Arts student awaits this day like no other, explained Santosh Parkar, General Secretary for the student body at JJ. "Our entire academic year revolves around this day. Whatever we learn and practice is reflected in what we present here. The winning students catch the eye of the entire state," said Santosh who was to present a commercial complex miniature at this exhibition.
Despite their strong position against participation, students continue to work on the exhibition projects till they're completed. After arriving on campus by 8 am every morning, Fine Art pupils begin their day's work. "I have been spending nearly 13 hours on my temple-form sculpture over the past month. I feel guilty for not submitting it," said Shekhar Salunke, a fourth year BFA student.
Shekhar Salunke working on his temple form sculpture |
With the absence of facilities, these projects have become quite the ordeal. Rushikesh Ingole, another sculpting student, has been carving a rock to portray his childhood memory. "I have not been able to work on the metallic aspect of my model as the college has no functional foundry," said Rushikesh. To work with metal, students like him have been shelling money from their own pockets to visit commercial foundries.
stone carving models at JJ School of Fine Arts |
Those who work with other materials face similar problems as JJ school still lacks necessities like looms, furnaces, and art softwares. And at certain places, even lights and fans.
A student, In most cases, spends six years of her life studying at the JJ arts college. She starts off with a 4 year Bachelor's in Fine Arts(BFA) before moving on to a two year Master's called MFA.
These students have been fearing shifts within the pedagogy during these long years, as most of the college staff teaches only on a contractual basis. Several teaching contracts are to expire on December 12, reported students.
"Art cannot be taught like any other technical subject. There is an exchange of ideas and philosophies between students and their professor. If art is taught from contract to contract, then you cannot prevent an enormous gap in the curriculum," said Amol Hirawadekar, a protesting alum.
The winning students at Rajya Kala Pradarshan are honored by the state and receive a cash prize. "Students from the JJ School of Arts bring home the majority of the prizes each year," said Prof. Vishwanath Sable, Dean at JJ School of Fine Arts.
"Even though the students are refusing to put up their projects now, we are certain that all protest issues will be resolved by January and JJ students will certainly participate," he added.
