State Art Exhibition (Student Category)

What is the State Art Exhibition (Student Category)?

State Art Exhibition (Student Category) is an annual event organised by Kala Academy Goa under the Art, Culture and Museums Department, Government of Goa, to promote and encourage creativity in the visual arts among local students.

Kala Academy holds the exhibition as a promotion activity in the field of visual art with two aims running together: to encourage local students and give them an opportunity to show their creative talent, and to give the general public a facility to see, appreciate and enjoy various modes of expression. The Academy describes its intention as developing an atmosphere in which a student can express feelings and ideas through different media.

The exhibition is a genuine annual institution rather than an occasional event. The 49th edition covered 2024-25, which places its origins in the mid-1970s.

Goan fine art students are invited to contribute work in three sections:

• Section 1 to Painting and Graphic Print. Drawings and paintings executed in oil, watercolour, inks, crayons or mixed media collage, and graphic prints.
• Section 2 to Applied Art and Graphic Design. Graphic design of visual communication, original or printed work in applied art, and creative photography.
• Section 3 to Sculpture. Work in stone, terracotta, metal, wood, marble, plastic, fibreglass and similar materials. Works of clay, glass and other easily breakable material are not accepted.

What prizes does the exhibition carry?

Three main prizes are awarded in each section or category:

Special prizes:

With three main prizes in each of three sections, plus the special prizes, the exhibition recognises a substantial number of students in a single cycle. The Artist to Artist Award at Rs 15,000 is the largest single prize on offer.

Who is eligible for the State Art Exhibition (Student Category)?

You can enter if:

• You are a bona fide student of any recognised art college or institution.
• You are studying one or more of the subjects covered by the exhibition sections.
• You can submit an official bonafide certificate from your institution.
• Your exhibit is your own original work, neither a copy nor an imitation.
• Your work has not previously won an award and has not been displayed in a prior exhibition by Kala Academy or any other institution.

You cannot enter, or are not eligible, if:

• You cannot produce a bonafide certificate from your art institution. Entries lacking it are not accepted, and this is the most common reason an entry is turned away at the submission counter.
• You are entering the Artist Category as well. A student who submits in the Student Category is not eligible to participate in the Artist Category.
• Your work is a copy or an imitation of another work.
• Your work has already won an award or been exhibited by Kala Academy or any other institution.
• You won an award in a section last year, a participant who receives an award in a given year is not eligible to receive an award in the same section the following year.
• Your sculpture is in clay, glass or another easily breakable material.
• Your work is not framed or mounted with a ring hook or hanging mechanism on the back, which can lead to disqualification.

What are the specifications for the artwork?

Handling requirements: pieces must be mounted or framed, with ring hooks or a hanging mechanism on the back. Unframed or unmounted works may be disqualified, so this is worth checking the day before submission rather than at the counter.

What documents and declarations are required?

Note that the declarations are required in two places: on the back of each artwork and again on the entry form. Entries lacking proper declaration may be rejected.

How to apply for the State Art Exhibition (Student Category)

1. Collect the prospectus and entry form from Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa, and read the section definitions and size limits before selecting the work you will submit.
2. Fill in the entry form in all respects and sign it, and obtain an official bonafide certificate from your art institution, without it the entry will not be accepted.
3. Pay the entry fee of Rs 50 per section in cash. It is non-refundable, and if you are entering more than one section you must pay separately for each. Record the receipt number on the entry form.
4. Write the declarations on the back of each artwork — that it is your original work and neither a copy nor an imitation, and that it has not won any prior award or been displayed earlier, and repeat the confirmation on the entry form.
5. Prepare the work to specification, within the size limit for its section, mounted or framed, with ring hooks or a hanging mechanism on the back.
6. Submit the artwork and the form in person at the Art Gallery, Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, Goa, within the announced entry dates. For the 49th State Art Exhibition (2024-25) entries were taken on 10 and 11 March 2025, between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

How are entries judged?

A three-member jury evaluates the entries. Two rules govern the outcome:

• Awards may be withheld if the standard of entries in a section is not met. A section does not have to produce three winners.
• The judges' decisions are final and binding.

Exhibits must remain in place for the whole exhibition period and may be removed only with the written permission of the Member Secretary.

What happens after the exhibition?

Collect your work within two days after the exhibition ends. Work that is not collected in that window becomes the property of Kala Academy and may be disposed of, with no claims entertained. This is a firm rule, not a formality; students who leave for the vacation without collecting a piece regularly lose it.

Why an entry may be rejected

• No bonafide certificate from the art institution.
• Declaration missing on the back of the artwork or on the entry form.
• Entry fee not paid for each section entered, or the receipt number not recorded on the form.
• Work exceeds the size limit for its section.
• Unframed or unmounted work, or no ring hook or hanging mechanism at the back.
• Sculpture in clay, glass or other easily breakable material.
• Work previously awarded or exhibited by Kala Academy or another institution.
• Award won in the same section last year, which bars an award this year in that section.
• Same student also entered in the Artist Category.

Where to get help

• Kala Academy Goa, Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001 to phone 0832-2420450 / 2420451 / 2420452 / 2420453, email kalaacademygoa@yahoo.co.in. Administrative office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
• Art Gallery, Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji; where entries are submitted and the exhibition is held.
• Member Secretary, Kala Academy, Goa, for written permission to remove an exhibit and for grievances relating to the exhibition.
• Kala Academy's annual student category art competition booklet, published on the Academy's website, carries the prospectus, entry form and the exact dates for the current edition.

How to check your application status

There is no online application tracker for the State Art Exhibition (Student Category); the process runs entirely through the Art Gallery counter at Kala Academy, Campal, Panaji, so status has to be checked in person or by phone at each stage.

• At submission: acceptance is confirmed on the spot. If your bonafide certificate, entry fee receipt or declaration is missing, the staff at the Art Gallery counter will tell you immediately rather than accepting the work provisionally and rejecting it later. Keep the counterfoil or receipt you are given at submission; it is your only proof that the artwork was received.
• During the exhibition: once entries are hung, you can visit the Art Gallery in person during exhibition hours to see whether your work has been displayed and, once judging is complete, whether it carries a prize card or citation.
• For the judging outcome: results are announced by Kala Academy, typically at a prize distribution function held as part of the exhibition programme, and the list of winning entries is subsequently published through the Academy's own channels (its website and notices at the Art Gallery). There is no separate "check my result" login; the prize list is the result.
• By phone: call Kala Academy's administrative office at 0832-2420450, 0832-2420451, 0832-2420452 or 0832-2420453, Monday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., to ask whether the current year's prospectus has been released, whether judging is complete, or whether the prize list has been finalised. Office staff can also confirm whether a specific entry was received if you quote your receipt number.
• By email: kalaacademygoa@yahoo.co.in for written queries, useful if you want a record of having asked about your entry's status.
• After the exhibition: the only status that matters at this stage is whether your artwork has been collected. Kala Academy does not proactively notify students to collect their work; it is the student's responsibility to return within two days of the exhibition's close, so treat the closing date itself as the trigger to check rather than waiting for a call.