At a time when building an Institution is considered old-fashioned and somewhat romantic, yet another ‘Academy for Fine Arts’ is trying to get its wings. It has Employed the same old-fashioned, romanticized modes of institution-building. Approaches to an “institution” that belong to the 1940s. An inquisitive look at this nascent ‘Academy for Fine Arts’, not only quandarizes the ways of institution-building, but also sets forth a concrete case of the “private” and “public” initiatives. A brief interview with Prof. Kashinath Salve (who retired from Sir J. J. School of Art as Head, Painting Department) would answer these questions only in part.

“Academy for Fine Arts” is a rather implausible name for those three halls, located at a corner of the Robert Money Technical School in Grant Road. The Bombay Diasces Society, which runs the School and some historically important academic institutions of Mumbai (like the Wilson College), were generous to let these halls for the “Academy”. It was Prof. Salve who, from his funds after retirement, bore the cost to turn these empty, godown-like halls somewhat closer to his dream institution. From cleaning, whitewashing the place to ensuring electric supply and telephone lines with internet facility, from setting up marble work-tables to bringing kilns for Ceramic and Metalwork, it took him over 3.5 lac rupees and 12 months.

What was the deal? What was the dream? Prof. Salve was sure about not setting-up another ‘art-education institution’. He was, instead, keen on starting a community (shared) studio for young and established artists of the city.

It was only last June that the ‘Academy’ started functioning. Today, this place accommodates 3 kilns for Ceramics, 3 for enamel (metal) work, and even a foundry for Metal-casting. A print-makers’ press, for Etching, Lino and Woodcut, is donated by Vrindavan Solanki (Baroda), and will be operative within 2-3 months, informs Prof. Salve. Last 7 months have seen a considerably good use of this infrastructure, with many workshops that attracted some promising young artists who would otherwise choose to remain confined to painting. The city newspapers, in the past months, have accoladed the effort, as the only public studios in Mumbai.

Why did Prof. Salve take it as a one-man mission to set up these studios? The answer has a seemingly personal story; but it sets the “Government / voluntary” debate rolling.

Salve tells how he was trained not only in Painting, but in Metalcraft and Printmaking. This enabled him to perceive the importance of these art-forms and the lack of any infrastructure in Mumbai for enamel-artists, graphic artists or serious ceramic artists. In Mumbai, an artist has to either afford his kilns or press & rollers, or leave the city for Bhopal (Bharat Bhavan), or one of the studio facilities offered by Lalit Kala Academy in Delhi (Garhi) or Chennai and Banglore. Even Baroda and Ahmedabad (Kanoria Centre) had exellent printmaking studios; but Mumbai was almost blind to the need of a shared studio facility.

K.K. Hebbar, in his tenure as Chairman, Lalit Kala Academy (LKA), took active interest in setting up a regional centre of the LKA, in Mumbai. It was 1983, Hebbar’s second term that the Govt. of Maharashtra was reminded to keep its promise — to give 5 acres of Land adjacent to Film City, Goregaum, alongwith a grant of Rs. 1 million. Had it been fulfilled, a Regional Centre encompassing 27,100 Sq. Feet could have been ready then, with a building cost of Rs. 2 million. This Centre, like others, was to house studios for Sculpture, Photography, Printmaking, Ceramics, a Metal Casting foundry... not to mention a library and Guest rooms. But the promise by the state government never materialized. During 1990-95, Kashinath Salve followed the matter as an associate (‘eminent artist member’) of the LKA. Salve was authorized by the LKA to co-ordinate the efforts to set up this regional centre. In the process, Salve saw Artists’ egos, heard the so-called Art-Connoisseurs’ doublespeak and tried to speak in a lingo that the Netas and Babus will understand. The results sufficed only to pedestalize the frustrations of artists like Shivaji Kale, who, alongwith many barefoot artists of that time, was building a movement for the LKA regional centre.

For someone like Salve , who did not have an army of supporting artists, and yet a nurtured a desire to set up some infrastructure for the Metal/Ceramic/graphic the alternative was to convert his own piece of land at Virar ( some 50 KMs away from the ‘proposed’ FilmCity land) into 3-4 studios where atleast some artists could work, with whatever available. Setting up such a shared studio at Virar was Salve’s important plan for his retired life. Eventually, by this time he noticed the three vacant halls at Robert money school and the BDS readily gave this built space for his experiment.

Since its start in June 2003, the ‘Academy for Fine Arts’ has found many friends. Artists like Jehangir Sabavala, ‘progressive artist’ Sadanand Bakre, Bharti Kapadia, Yogesh Raval top the list of well-wishers of this co-operative venture, while younger artists like Ghanshyam Gupta, Neeta Gajam have actively participated in it. Many others, like Sheetal Gattani, Pandit Khahirnar, Datta Padekar, have partook in workshops by the ‘Academy’. Still, is it not “Salve’s institution “ ? Has Salve not employed the “Shantiniketan Model” of institution-building, where the role of one central figure is imperative ? Salve denies, and says nothing is “single-handed” here. Everyday overheads are to be borne by the ‘Academy’ as an institution, and not by a person, Salve points out. And admits that till now, this institution has hardly achieved any self-sustainability.

Perhaps the ‘workshops’ approach of the academy is proving piecemeal... the Faculty invited for the workshop is paid around 10 Thousand rupees, and the participants have to pay 3.5 thousand for Ceramic or Metalcraft workshops, and even upto 6 thousand for the Original Stained Glass workshop. The fees are inclusive of material and facilities, and the expert is present throughout the workshop. The high fees tend to limit the number of participants, and the earlier workshops (Enamel art by Mrs. Veenu Shah of Delhi, Ceramic Sculpture by Devilal Patidar of Bhopal, Paper Mashie by Shard Kaman of Bizarre, Metal Casting by Rattan Shah) have hardly gave the ‘Academy a reasonable surplus. On the cards are the plans for having interactive sessions with eminent artists, a “kale meal” to sell the artworks of upcoming artists, as well as some tribal artists from Bengal, and some more workshops.

When Mrs. Kanoria of the Kanoria Centre, Ahmedabad, visited this ‘Academy’, she had advised to concentrate on imparting art lessons to children... her own experience being that the children’s art classes may prove financially rewarding. Salve may accept such a suggestion; but feels it is against his original aim, of setting up a shared studio! Sponsorships might help to make the institution financially sound, he quips.

Inside these halls, six kilns await artists who pay Rs. 300 to 400 per day to work on them. The tall ceiling of these roomy spaces beckons anyone with higher aims, and the foundry is hungry for ferrous creativity. Let’s hope this infrastructure finds a more sustainable model, with which we can draw some fair conclusion.

- abhijeet tamhane