Lalit Kala Akademi Announces 20 Awards At 65th National Exhibition Of Art

The Lalit Kala Akademi has announced 20 Lalit Kala Akademi Awards at the 65th National Exhibition of Art (NEA), recognising 20 artists for works spanning painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and mixed media.

The annual exhibition, organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi, the National Academy of Art, has brought together a wide range of contemporary artistic practices from across India. This year's edition received 6,175 artworks from 2,495 artists representing 27 States and Union Territories, highlighting the diversity of India's contemporary visual arts scene.

Following a two-stage selection process, the First-Tier Jury selected 270 artworks for presentation at the exhibition. A Second-Tier Jury subsequently selected 20 artworks by 20 artists for the Lalit Kala Akademi Awards.

The award-winning works demonstrate considerable diversity in materials and artistic approaches. Chandra Shekhar Sain was recognised for My Entire World - I, a terracotta sculpture, while Gopal Chandra Naskar received an award for The Tune of The Srimad Bhagavad Gita, an acrylic-on-canvas painting. Kishor Kumar Narkhadiwala was recognised for Paryavaran, while Mrinal Dey won for Hopeless Settlement.

Other awardees include Nidhi Chopra for Tangible Dreams, Nimai Singh Sarungbam for Mudra - I, Pankaj Kumar Sharma for Haloed Traveler - II and Pooja Rajpoot for Prakriti Shoshan.

The list also includes Praveen Kumar for Where The Walls Remember, Pritam Madhukar Deuskar for Of Time and The City, Rajendra Prasad for Sujata With Buddha, Ramesh Vithal Thorat for Untitled - II and Raviram Ramakrishnan for Fisherwoman.

Further awards went to Sanjay Kumar for When Memories Come Back - 7, Sanjay Kumar Sahani for Youth, Sanjib Kumar Gogoi for Aakar Nirankar - II, Santa Deb for Attraction of Simplicity, Siddharth Shahjirao Shingade for Trees, Usharanjan Mandal for Wheel of A Crowded City and Vijendra Sharma for Life 2025.

The exhibition showcases works in mediums ranging from terracotta, ceramic, teak wood and white marble to oil and acrylic on canvas, etching, mixed media and welded oxidised copper. The selection reflects the continuing experimentation of Indian artists with materials, ideas and forms.

The 65th National Exhibition of Art is being held at the Lalit Kala Akademi Art Gallery at Rabindra Bhawan, New Delhi. According to the Akademi, the exhibition has been extended, and the selected artworks are also available for acquisition, giving art collectors and visitors an opportunity to engage directly with contemporary Indian art. The gallery lists its visiting hours as 11 am to 7 pm.

Beyond artistic recognition, the Akademi has positioned the exhibition as part of India's wider creative economy. By bringing artists together with audiences, collectors and cultural institutions, the exhibition can provide greater visibility and professional opportunities for artists, while the sale of artworks can offer direct economic support for their practices.

The participation of artists from 27 States and Union Territories also underlines the national character of the exhibition and the breadth of contemporary visual expression being represented.

The Lalit Kala Akademi congratulated the 20 awardees and participating artists and acknowledged the contribution of the juries involved in selecting the exhibited and award-winning works.