Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi, under the aegis of the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture, organised the ‘Kala O Camera – Photography Competition’. More than 500 participants took part in the contest.
The competition was based on three themes: Tangible Heritage of Odisha, Intangible Heritage of Odisha, and Vanishing Arts of Odisha. Participants submitted photographs on these themes to the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi, which received over 600 entries. The top 10 entries were selected for awards.
Odia Language, Literature and Culture Minister Suryabanshi Suraj felicitated the talented winners today at Rabindra Mandap. The first, second and third prize winners received cash awards of ₹25,000, ₹15,000 and ₹10,000 respectively from the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi. Winners from fourth to tenth positions were each given ₹3,000.
In the photography competition, Debadatta Behera (photograph title: Whisper of the Mist) secured first place. Ajay Mohan Sahu (photograph title: Mukteswar at Dawn) and Chinmaya Kumar Nayak (photograph title: Faith in the Divine) shared the second position, while Dharmasangram Amanta took third place.
Minister Suraj congratulated all the winners and participants. He described the high-quality effort to bring Odisha’s art, architecture, sculpture and heritage to life through photography as commendable.
A jury committee comprising distinguished photographers Prafulla Chandra Dhir, Surendra Kumar Sahu, Dilip Kumar, Shri Dhirasamanta and Ashish Kumar Jena selected the winners. The Minister also felicitated all members of the jury committee at today’s programme.
Alongside the awards, an exhibition of the selected photographs titled ‘Kala O Camera – Aama Kala Aama Asmita’ was organised at Rabindra Mandap. Minister Suraj formally inaugurated the exhibition, visited the displays and encouraged the artists.
Among those present at the event were Ekamra MLA Babu Singh, Secretary of the Department of Odia Language, Literature and Culture Dr. Bijaya Ketan Upadhyaya, Secretary of Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi Dr. Debayani Bhuyan, and Secretary of Odisha Sangeet Natak Akademi Dr. Chandra Shekhar Hota.
