US National Endowment for the Arts funds travelling exhibition on Hindu deity Vishnu

Kartik Krushna Trutiya, Kaliyug Varsha 5112

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), a US federal government agency, has awarded a grant to Frist Center for the Visual Arts of Nashville (Tennessee) to support an exhibition on Hindu deity Vishnu.

According to announcement for 2011 Grant Awards on Access to Artistic Excellence released on November 23, this grant is “To support the exhibition Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior, with accompanying educational programs. The exhibition will present one of Hinduism’s primary deities to a general audience through works of art made in India from the second to the 19th century.”

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has applauded NEA for supporting a Hinduism focused exhibition and added that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth. Zed commended Frist Center for providing an opportunity to the world to further explore Hinduism and its concepts.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged NEA to fund more Hinduism centered art projects so that more Americans could immerse in the rich philosophy Hinduism offered.

NEA, headquartered in Washington DC, with Rocco Landesman as the Chairman, was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government and awards grants to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities.   

Titled “Vishnu: Hinduism’s Blue-Skinned Savior”, this travelling exhibition of the Frist Center will present about 150 paintings and sculptures made in India going as far back as second century CE. According to the Center, this exhibition will serve as a brief survey of Hindu art styles as well as an examination of the Vaishnava tradition. Reports suggest that the first section of the exhibition will introduce Vishnu in his primary form with subsections dedicated to his attributes, legends, etc. The second section will examine his avatars (incarnations), as a group and then individually, with substantial subsections dedicated to Rama and Krishna. The third section will show some of the ways that Vishnu has been worshipped, with images of temples and ritual objects.

According to reports, this exhibition, arranged by Dr. Joan Cummins, Asian Art Curator at the Brooklyn Museum (New York, USA), will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with essays and object entries by Cummins and other distinguished scholars in the areas of religious studies and anthropology. Starting at Frist Center from February 20 to May 29 next year, it will move to Brooklyn Museum from June 24 to September 18. Workshops will be organized regarding this exhibition on March nine and 12.

The Frist Center, whose vision is “to inspire people through art”, has hosted a spectacular array of art from the region, the country, and around the world. William R. Frist is Chairman of Board of Trustees. Vishnu is “preserver” in the Hindu triad with Brahma and Shiva as the aspect of the Supreme. He had ten incarnations to establish dharma (divine law). Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

Source: Press Release

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