Shillong: The RITI Academy of Visual Arts organized a function for the Crystal Gayle Award for Excellence on visual arts at Raj Bhavan here on Thursday with Governor Satya Pal Malik handing over the award for 2021 to Wanhi-I Challam, an animation artist from Chilliang Raij, Jowai.
The Crystal Gayle Award honors and acknowledges the recipient’s excellence in the field of visual arts and practices.
The award was conferred in memory of (L) Crystal Gayle Kharnaior, a theater artist who passed away in 2017.
Addressing the gathering, Governor Malik congratulated the Riti Academy of Visual Arts for its contribution in the field of visual arts in Meghalaya and said that the Academy had left no stones unturned in its pursuit for artistic excellence in various fields like painting, films, theatre, photography and also literature.
“It is heartening to note that Riti Academy of Visual Arts was formed with the objective to nurture, sustain and propagate the genuine understanding of aesthetics with an emphasis on indigenous conceptualisation and attitude towards the arts and literature,” he added.
Malik also stated that since its inception in 1991, Riti Academy has traversed a long way in providing congenial space for the art fraternity to meaningfully work and realise its potential and vision.
“There is a need to be proactive in catering the youth with formal art education, exposure at suitable platforms and avail every opportunity from the State Government,” the Governor said.
