Three Maharashtra artists win Lalit Kala Akademi national awards at 65th national exhibition

New Delhi, 21st: Three artists from Maharashtra made their mark at the national level at the Lalit Kala Akademi's 65th National Exhibition of Art. Ramesh Vitthal Thorat, Siddharth Shahajirao Shingade and Pritam Madhukar Deosakar received the prestigious Lalit Kala Akademi National Award from President Droupadi Murmu.

The award ceremony was held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. The 65th National Exhibition of Art and the third Print Biennale India were organised jointly. Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Culture Ministry Secretary Vivek Agarwal were present.

Thorat received the award for his oil painting "Untitled - II". Shingade was honoured for his mixed-media work "Trees". Deosakar was given the national award for his printmaking work "Of Time and the City".

The exhibition received 6,175 works from 2,495 artists across 27 states and Union Territories. In the first round, the selection committee chose 270 of these works for display. A final selection process then picked 20 outstanding works for the national awards.

The artists' works in different art media have won national recognition, which is a tribute to the artistic talent of Maharashtra.