Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday announced that June 14 of every year would be celebrated as the “Folk Art Day”.
Patnaik said this at the concluding day ceremony of the ninth Folk Art Festival at the Utkal Mandap here.
Patnaik said that the State Government has formed artist associations from block to district level for th welfare of the artists and different awareness programmes are being carried out to sensitise people about folk art. Financial assistance is being given to 50,000 artistes in the State, he said.
On the occasion, the CM felicitated secretaries and senior officers of the Panchayati Raj and Health Department and district collectors and senior officers of Dhenknal, Bhadrak and Nabarangpur for employing various artiste association in scheme promotional programmmes and providing financial assistance to them.
Among others, Culture Minister Ashok Panda, MP Dr Prasanna Patsani, MLAs Bijay Mohanty and Priyadarshi Mishra, Culture Secretary Manoranjan Panigrahi and Unicef Odisha chief Monika Nelson were presnt.
