Film director and chairman of the Kerala State Chalachithra Academy Kamal has said the contemporary art exhibition Lokame Tharavadu should continue in Alappuzha.

He was speaking after visiting the art show on Friday. “I was really surprised to see Lokame Tharavadu. I have participated in the Kochi Biennale many times. The biennale is an international event that attracts all art lovers. It’s interesting Lokame Tharavadu, of the same nature as the biennale, is brought to Alappuzha, which has the speciality of being a heritage city,” Mr. Kamal said.

“My opinion is that Lokame Tharavadu, where artists of the new and old generations come together, should continue. Even after this edition, it should continue on the soil of Alappuzha along with the biennale,” he said.

Mr. Kamal said Lokame Tharavadu offered diversity of paintings and a great collage of pluralism. “Cinema is an art form that has reached out to the masses and has become popular. Painting is another perspective of it. Painting and sculpture existed here for centuries before the advent of cinema. I think painting is a reality of human life. Cinema does not often feel like a realistic portrayal of life. In painting, an artist sees ordinary people and their lives, their anxieties, hysteria, happiness and so many different expressions in many perspectives,” he said.

The show, being organised by the Kochi Biennale Foundation with the support of the State Government, features the works of 267 artists in seven different venues in Alappuzha. Bose Krishnamachari has conceptualised and curated the exhibition.