A three-day exhibition, named ‘Dastak Chitra Pradarshani’ was inaugurated by veteran actor, director and producer Amol Palekar and Neera Jain, Director, National Book Trust here at the Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum on Saturday.

The exhibition is being organized by Riyaaz Academy for Illustrators, a professional development programme supported by Parag Initiative of Tata Trusts, India’s oldest philanthropic organization.

The exhibition is showcasing the work of young illustrators from the three batches of the Riyaaz Academy. This includes picture books, poem posters, illustrations for magazines and unpublished work.

The Riyaaz Academy for Illustrators was set up in 2015 to nurture and train illustrators for the children’s literature sector in India. It is offered in partnership with Ektara Centre for Children’s Literature & Art. Riyaaz comprises an 11-month certificate course that focusses on refining the perception, professional skills and intellect of students in illustration, especially picture book illustration.

While talking to media persons on the occasion, Swaha Sahoo, Head, Parag initiative of Tata Trusts, said, “Illustrations are an integral part of picture books, which are critical when introducing children to reading. For first generation school goers who have not been exposed to a text environment at home, well designed and good quality picture books play an important role in building a relationship with books and reading.  While we have many design colleges in India no programme is focusing on children’s illustrations and Riyaaz aims to fill that gap.”