With a view to encourage the eminent artists in the field of Paintings and Sculptures in recognition of their meritorious service in the field of Traditional Art and Contemporary Art, 'Kalaichemmal' awards are conferred on them by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The Kalaichemmal awardees are given a citation and a cash award of Rs.1,00,000/-. So far, 21 eminent artists from Traditional art forms and 52 eminent artists from Contemporary art forms have been conferred with this title.
In order to encourage the creative artists and to develop the Painting and Sculpture arts, the Traditional Art / Contemporary Art exhibitions are conducted at state level. The Paintings / Sculpture works are collected from the artistes of Tamil Nadu and selected by the Selection Committee constituted by the Government and the selected art works are exhibited at Chennai. The best Traditional / Contemporary art works in Painting and Sculpture are awarded. In the senior category (above 30 years of age), 30 senior artists are awarded prize money of Rs.15,000/- each with a certificate of appreciation. 30 Junior artists (below 30 years of age) are awarded the prize money of Rs.10,000/- each with a certificate of appreciation and totally a sum of Rs.7.50 lakhs is given to 60 artists.
For encouraging the talented artists of Tamil Nadu in the field of Painting, Sculpture and to enable them to conduct exhibition, a sum of Rs.25,000/- is given for conductng one-man shows to 10 artistes and Rs.50,000/- is given per group for conducting group shows to 5 groups. A sum of Rs.5.00 lakhs is sanctioned every year for this purpose.
In order to encourage the students of Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai and Kumbakonam, scholarships are being awarded to outstanding final year Post Graduate students and final year Graduate students. Under this scheme.
In Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, every year educational scholarship are given to 10 outstanding students studying in final year B.F.A., at Rs.3000/- each and to 4 outstanding students studying in final year M.F.A. at Rs.5000/- each and similarly in the Government College of Fine Arts, Kumbakonam, educational scholarship are given to 10 outstanding students studying in final year B.F.A., at Rs.3000/- each and to 2 outstanding students studying in final year M.F.A., at Rs.5000/- each. Every year, around 26 outstanding students are being benefitted. Totally a sum of Rs.90,000/- is allotted and awarded as educational scholarship as recommended by the Principals of the Colleges.
Art Galleries in Districts
Two art galleries are functioning under the Ovia Nunkalai Kuzhu. One at Udhagamandalam and the other at the Madurai Centre which attracts the attention of tourists from other parts of the country