An ode to a THOUGHT turned REALITY
The Frame- 30 years of togetherness
Nilormi Das
A picture finds its completeness and becomes picture-perfect after it is well-fitted inside a frame, the structure which holds and represents the picture by enhancing its significance. The objective of this association is quite analogous to the aforementioned thought and hence the group got its name, "The Frame".
"Post completing their graduate degrees very few students could actually remain involved in practising art and creativity due to their work-life engagements"...very casually stated by the teacher during his afternoon lecture.
But who knew that this would thought-provoke his pupils to such an extent and inculcate them to form a group amongst their friends to keep their creative thoughts alive leading to practising art.
This statement on a sultry afternoon within the four-walled classroom of the Govt. Art College was the laying stone of "The Frame". The teacher who motivated those bunch of sophomores is none other than one of the eminent artists of the city of joy, Shri Ganesh Haloi, who was then a lecturer at the faculty of painting of the same institution.
The evolution to form the group became a reality in the year 1992 at a casual friendly gathering in one of the restaurants in Park Circus, Kolkata. The naming of the association was done by the then Creative Art Director, Shri Ratan Pradhan, of the popular print media The Statesman, Kolkata and the logo was illustrated by artist Shri Chandidas Bhattacharya from the same media house.
The ensemble of these skilled and creative artisans don’t limit themselves in binding the creativity in a single FRAME rather they are way more inclined towards restoration and appreciation of the vastness of art forms, artistic existence, and artistically creative thoughts with great delicacies which would eventually connect all the aesthetes and art-enthusiasts together by a single string.
The founding members are Debasish Samanta, Prangopal Ghosh, Kumud Ranjan Halder, Sushanta Mondal, Sandhyakar Kayal, Shubhendu Sarkar and Soumitra Kar. “The Frame '' is indebted to Shri Amulyacharan Samanta, father of Debasish Samanta (member, The Frame) for granting a space in his house at New Alipore, Kolkata which is still the permanent address of the association. In 1993, during the inaugural eve of their first art exhibition in the city of joy at Academy of Fine Arts, the members were overwhelmed to welcome the popular and eminent poet of “ful phutuk na phutuk aaj basanta”, Shri Subhash Mukhopadhyay as chief guest. It was starry evening with the presence of painter Shri Shyamal Dutta Roy and thespian, popularly known for “Maarich Sangbaad”, Shri Arun Mukhopadhyay. The presence of Lady Ranu Mukherjee strongly their initiative.
In the year 2022, The Frame had its thirtieth anniversary and celebration is still ongoing. The tricenarian ever-growing youth has witnessed several exclusions as well as inclusions. At present, it is an army of thirteen artists namely: Debasish Samanta, Prangopal Ghosh, Biswajit Saha, Bibhuti Chakrabarty, Arunangshu Roy, Rabin Roy, Shitangshu Mandal, Swapan Kumar Mallick, Subhra Kumar Banerjee, Jayanta Bhattacharya, Sumitabha Pal, Sekhar Baran Karmakar, and Soumitra Kar who are ready to carry forward this legacy. Besides organising exhibitions in Kolkata “The Frame” had also showcased their artworks in various other Indian states including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bhopal. Their activities are not limited within nurturing and promoting art rather they are also engaged in organising drawing and painting workshops, art camp, art-related excursions, celebrations of various remarkable events, celebrating the foundation day, art-related talks and discussions, literary and poetry evenings, formation of library, showcasing documentary films, etc.
The association is glad and has been enriched to have Shri Ganesh Haloi, Shri Prashanta Daan, Smt. Sohini Dhar, Shri Siddhartha Laha, and Shri Supriti Mukhopadhyay as their advisors, whose presence and valuable feedback have added an extra dimension.
The events of "The Frame" have always been filled in with the presence of all the stars of the town under one roof. Among them the notable ones were the great novelist Shri Sunil Gangopadhay, Shri Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay (the creator of "Goyenda Shabor"), Shri Bhabesh Sanyal, Shri Ganesh Pyne, Shri Sunil Das, Shri Dhiraj Chowdhury, the notable thespians Smt. Shaoli Mitra and Smt. Usha Ganguly, danseuse Smt. Amala Shankar, celebrates photographer Shri Nimai Ghosh, Shri Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, various notable artists such as Shri Jogen Chowdhury, Shri Ganesh Haloi, Shri Shuvaprasanna, Shri Rabin Mondal. The never-ending list also includes Shri Manu Parekh, Shri Subhendu Dasgupta, Shri
Pranabranjan Roy, Shri Manosij Majumdar, Shri Mrinal Ghosh, Shri Sunil De, Shri Aditya Basak, Shri Pradip Maitra, Shri Ramananda Bandyopadhyay, Shri Tapas Konar, Shri Niranjan Pradhan, Shri. Isha Muhammad, Smt. Sukti Subhra Pradhan and many more.
They would like to express their sincere thanks and regards to all the personalities who have earnestly encouraged "The Frame" in its thirty years of traversed path.
If you have a quest to satisfy your art appetite, pay a visit to the upcoming exhibition
"Quest", the second episode of "The Frame turns 30" at Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata from March 14 -19, 2023. The doors are open from 3pm-8pm for a cordial welcome.
I would like to thank "The Frame" and also to Artist Shri Soumitra Kar (member, The Frame) for sharing the journey.
