A visitor at the painting exhibition, Chitrachantha, organised by an artists’ collective at Mananchira square in Kozhikode on Sunday. | Photo Credit: S_RAMESHKURUP more-in For the first time, the city played host to an art market, Chitrachantha, featuring works by more than 50 artists. Those who participated in the open market included established artists, art teachers, students, and children. The event was organised at Mananchira on Sunday to raise funds for flood relief. The market featured simple works by children using crayons that did not cost more than a few hundreds to elaborate mural paintings costing up to ?35,000. The sale was organised near the compound wall of Mananchira square on its south side opposite S.M. Street gate. Inaugurating the programme, Mayor Thottathil Raveendran offered all support from the corporation for similar endeavours in the future. However, the response from the public was not so encouraging. “Most visitors came just to have a look at the paintings. Some stopped to comment on them. But there were very few who took them seriously enough to contemplate purchasing them,” said artist P. Satheesh Kumar. Chitrachantha was put together in a haste in view of the situation under the banner of an artists’ collective. But if organised well, it could have drawn more people, felt artist Radhika Ranjith. “We still do not have the culture of buying artwork in Kozhikode. This open market was the first step towards nurturing that culture,” said artist Sasidharan Mangathil, one of the organisers. The organisers are even planning to make the art market a regular affair on a monthly or weekly basis, so that the public can get more acquainted with art and learn to appreciate it.

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