The Sambalpuri wall painting was unveiled in the artist village of Kordola

Sambalpur: State Culture Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi on Sunday inaugurated an 8,000-square-foot open air gallery in Kardola village, Dhankuda block, Sambalpur district, which has been developed as the state’s new industrial village. The wall paintings by the painters of the Odisha Academy of Fine Arts are all in this gallery. Inaugurating the virtual tour, Minister Shri Panigrahi hoped that it would promote the Sambalpuri Dam industry and attract a large number of local and foreign tourists. He lauded the Fine Arts Academy and the Sambalpur district administration for organizing a joint camp for the arts and crafts. The invited artists of the academy painted beautifully embroidered paintings on the walls of the weavers’ houses. Organized by the Lalit Kala Academy and the Sambalpur district administration, the camp was attended by 7 weavers and 42 artists. The pictures were made public as the camp was celebrated on Sunday. The event was attended by Culture Director Ranjan Kumar Das through Virtual. Padma Shri Sudarshan Patnaik, President, Odisha Fine Arts Academy and eminent sand artist, Sambalpur District Commissioner Shubham Saksena, DRDA Project Director Dilip Kumar Bal and Dhankauda VDO Basant Kumar Hati were present on the occasion.