Karnataka will provide free modern art education to children who visit gram panchayat libraries and Arivu Kendras, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Eshwar Khandre has said. The programme is intended to nurture creativity among rural children and help them pursue achievements in the arts.
The initiative follows an agreement between the Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department and the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Bengaluru. The arrangement places village-level libraries and learning centres at the centre of a programme that will use existing public facilities to expand access to art education.
According to Khandre, NGMA will provide selected digital artworks from its permanent collection for educational purposes. The institution will also train librarians and resource persons involved in delivering the programme at rural libraries and Arivu Kendras.
The minister said NGMA representatives would provide modern art education to rural children free of cost. The announcement did not specify the number of libraries or children to be covered, the districts in which the programme will begin, or a timeline for its rollout.
The agreement also assigns a curriculum and evaluation role to the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA). Khandre said the organisation would develop the curriculum required for modern art education, support capacity-building and programme implementation, and undertake independent evaluation and monitoring.
The proposed delivery model combines digital cultural content, trained local facilitators and a curriculum developed by an arts institution. For village libraries, this could extend the role of these facilities beyond book access and create a structured setting for learning activities. However, the announcement does not provide details on the equipment, internet connectivity, staffing arrangements or recurring costs required to deliver digital art education in participating centres.
The programme also makes librarians and resource persons important intermediaries between national cultural collections and rural learners. Their training will determine how the selected digital artworks are presented and how children engage with modern art, although the department has not yet released details of the training format or learning outcomes.
The announcement comes at a time when public libraries and Arivu Kendras are being used as local access points for educational and community services. By linking them with NGMA Bengaluru and IFA, the department is creating an institutional arrangement that connects village-level facilities with specialised cultural organisations.
Department secretary D. Randeep, commissioner Y.S. Patil and employment guarantee scheme director Priyanka Mary Francis were present during the announcement. The department, NGMA and IFA are expected to provide further details on implementation, participating centres and the programme schedule.
