State's only BFA in Art History faces faculty, infrastructure crunch

Thrissur:The state's only BFA programme in Art History, which prepares students for careers in art curation and gallery management, is struggling with a crippling faculty shortage, with just one teacher handling the entire course. Students at the Government College of Fine Arts, Thrissur, also face inadequate classrooms, workspace and storage facilities.

Introduced in 2019, the BFA in Art History and Visual Studies has an annual intake of seven students and currently has a total strength of 24. It trains students to interpret artworks and visual representations and understand their wider cultural and historical contexts. However, its academic potential is constrained by the lack of adequate teaching staff. The lone teacher handles all subjects for Art History students, besides teaching art history papers to those specialising in sculpture, painting and applied art. In the absence of a separate Art History department, the teacher is posted under the Painting Department.

The space crunch is equally acute. Even students in the same class lack adequate facilities to sit together and work. A shortage of storage space has forced them to stack their paintings in classrooms and corridors. "We have grown tired of submitting petitions seeking the relocation of the college to a more spacious campus. The shortage of teachers in the Art History department is also affecting our studies," said Sreenandhi K R, chairperson of the college.

The college authorities have approached the government seeking the land housing the museum and zoo at Chembukkavu for relocating the institution. The proposal could also help develop the area into a cultural hub for Thrissur. ``The area needs to be developed as a cultural hub for Thrissur. The Fine Arts College and a library could be part of this larger vision," said Murali Cheeroth, former chairman of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi and an alumnus of the college.