Scheme to Award Scholarship to Young Artists

What is the Scheme to Award Scholarship to Young Artists?

Scheme to Award Scholarship to Young Artists is a merit scholarship of the Department of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, administered by the Tamil Nadu Oviya Nunkalaikkuzhu, the state's fine arts council for painting and sculpture. The scheme gives an annual scholarship to outstanding final-year students of the two Government Colleges of Fine Arts, at Chennai and at Kumbakonam, and its stated purpose is to motivate students studying in those colleges.

The department's policy note for Art and Culture sets out the distribution precisely:

Twenty-six outstanding students in total receive the scholarship every year, and Rs 90,000 is allotted annually to implement the scheme.

Be clear-eyed about the size of this. Rs 3,000 or Rs 5,000 does not fund a year of study. The scholarship functions as a merit recognition at the end of the course, a departmental award naming a student as one of the best in the graduating year, with a modest cash component. For a fine arts graduate building a CV before applying to a gallery, a residency or a postgraduate programme, the recognition tends to matter more than the money.

The scheme sits inside a larger set of Oviya Nunkalaikkuzhu programmes for painters and sculptors, which also includes the Kalaichemmal Awards of Rs 1,00,000 to six eminent artists a year, cash prizes at the State Level Art Exhibition in traditional and contemporary art, and financial assistance of Rs 25,000 for one-man shows and Rs 50,000 for group shows. A student who receives this scholarship is entering a ladder that continues after graduation.

Who is eligible for the young artists scholarship?

You are eligible if:

• You are a student of the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, or the Government College of Fine Arts, Kumbakonam.
• You are in the final year of B.F.A. or M.F.A.
• Your academic and studio work is assessed as outstanding by the college, since the Principal recommends the students rather than the department selecting from open applications.
• You hold a bank account in your own name for the credit.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You study at a private fine arts college, or at any institution other than the two Government Colleges of Fine Arts named. Students of the Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Music and Fine Arts University's other constituent colleges, of the Kalai Kaviri College of Fine Arts, Tiruchirappalli, and of the newer Government fine arts college in the southern districts are not eligible under this particular head.
• You are in the first, second or third year of B.F.A., or the first year of M.F.A. The scholarship is a final-year award.
• You are studying a course other than B.F.A. or M.F.A.
• You are not recommended by the Principal. There is no direct application route that bypasses the college.
• All 26 places for the year are filled. The number is fixed and the scholarship is competitive within each college.

How to apply for the Scheme to Award Scholarship to Young Artists

1. Confirm you are in the final year of B.F.A. or M.F.A. at the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai or Kumbakonam. The scholarship is not open to students at other institutions or in earlier years.
2. Keep your studio and academic record strong throughout the course. Because the Principal recommends students on merit, the selection effectively reflects work done across the whole programme, not an application written at the end.
3. Ask the college office when the recommendations for the year are being drawn up. The scheme has no publicly advertised last date; the college initiates it internally during the final year.
4. Collect the application form from the college office and fill it with your course, year, register number, Aadhaar number and bank account details.
5. Attach the documents — bonafide certificate from the Principal, academic record, Aadhaar copy, bank passbook copy and a passport-size photograph, and add a portfolio of your work if the college asks for one.
6. Submit the application through the Principal, who forwards the recommendation to the Member Secretary, Tamil Nadu Oviya Nunkalaikkuzhu, Directorate of Art and Culture, Chennai.
7. Check the bank account for the credit after the department sanctions the list. The scholarship is paid annually and directly into the student's own account.

What documents are required?

How do I check the status of the scholarship?

There is no online tracker for this scheme.

• The college office at the Government College of Fine Arts holds the recommendation and knows whether the list has been forwarded.
• The Member Secretary, Tamil Nadu Oviya Nunkalaikkuzhu, at the Directorate of Art and Culture, Chennai, sanctions the list.
• The Department of Art and Culture at artandculture.tn.gov.in publishes the Oviya Nunkalaikkuzhu's schemes and its contact details.
• The bank passbook shows the annual credit once sanctioned.

Why students miss out on the scholarship

• Wrong institution. The scheme covers exactly two colleges. This is the most common misunderstanding, because Tamil Nadu now has several fine arts colleges.
• Not in the final year. Students in earlier years are outside the scheme entirely.
• Recommendation not made. The Principal recommends a fixed number; strong work that is not documented in the college's own assessment record is easily overlooked.
• Bank account not opened or not in the student's own name. The credit is direct, and a parent's account will not do.
• Name mismatch between the college register, Aadhaar and the bank passbook. Get the college record corrected first, since it is the source document.
• Places filled. Only 26 scholarships exist across the two colleges each year.

What are the key figures?

• B.F.A. final year: Rs 3,000 per student.
• M.F.A. final year: Rs 5,000 per student.
• Chennai college: 10 B.F.A. and 4 M.F.A. students.
• Kumbakonam college: 10 B.F.A. and 2 M.F.A. students.
• Total beneficiaries: 26 students a year.
• Annual allocation: Rs 90,000.
• Administering body: Tamil Nadu Oviya Nunkalaikkuzhu.
• Route: recommendation by the college Principal.

Where do I raise a grievance?

• The Principal of the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai or Kumbakonam.
• The Member Secretary, Tamil Nadu Oviya Nunkalaikkuzhu, Directorate of Art and Culture, Chennai.
• The Department of Art and Culture, Government of Tamil Nadu, through artandculture.tn.gov.in.

No fee is payable at any stage. The scholarship is awarded on the college's merit recommendation, and no payment or intermediary can secure a place on the list.