Inauguration of the 60-day art festival, now in its fourth year, was held on June 29 at the Satyajit Ray Auditorium of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). The exhibition will be held at the Chemould Art Gallery on Park Street, Kolkata. 

Subrata Mukherjee, Minister in Charge, Panchayat and Rural Development and Public Health Engineering Department, Government of West Bengal, inaugurated the programme by floating flowers in water.

Joining him in the ceremony were the guests of honour eminent artist Rabin Mandal, fashion designer Sharbari Datta and theatre personality Dolly Basu.

In his inaugural speech, Subrata Mukherjee praised the idea of Prayas 2016 and their various efforts to give artists their due respect.

Lifetime achievement awards were given to artists Lalu Prasad Shaw and Anita Roy Chowdhury, art critic and historian Pranab Ranjan Ray and photographer Nemai Ghosh. However, Anita Roy Chowdhury could not be present owing to poor health.

That Prayas always strives to give young and upcoming artists a platform to showcase their work was much appreciated by all. Artist Rabin Mandal said that Prayas will encourage budding artists to pursue their creative urge. Pranab Ranjan Ray said that Chemould Art Gallery, right from the time it was started by the Ghandy family, has always encouraged artists. The current owners of the gallery in Kolkata have maintained that tradition. Chemould Art Gallery has always been very supportive to artists, both established and new.

The programme began on a sombre note with a minute’s silence observed in honour of eminent artist KG Subramanyan, who had passed away on earlier that day.

Two cultural presentations were held at the beginning and end of the programme. The first was a dramatic presentation titled Ananta Ghorara (Eternal Horses) that blended a Kathak dance recital and a mono-act (by Janardhan Ghosh). A RAD presentation, it was scripted by Partha Pratim Roy and choreographed by Amitava Dutta. The other cultural programme was a musical programme titled Afsana by Pratik and Pratim Chakraborty.

A digital preview of the works of the artists who are being showcased in the different phases of Prayas 2016 was also screened.

The programmes concluded with the declaration of awards for Prayas 2016.

Prayas 2016 will be held between July 3 and September 1, 2016 and will consist of 12 separate five-day exhibitions where 10 artists will display their works at every phase and share their views and ideas with a senior artist.