Indians have always been the aesthetic sort and art has been a way of life for all of us. This can be traced back centuries and the colourful cave paintings at Bhimbetka are a testimony of the same. As the pages of history turned, pottery, clay work and other works of artistic marvel of the Indus Valley Civilisation drew the attention of the world.
In fact, this is something that astonishes anthropologists even today. With the Persians and the Mughals visiting the nation, fine arts in the country was set to reach newer heights of achievement and accomplishment. Let us not forget that following our independence from the colonial British it was this very country that produced artistic geniuses like that of M F Hussain.
Thus, it is obvious that for a country with an artistic history that is as rich as that of our own, there will be a huge chunk of the young population who are interested to pursue a career in this field. To cater to the educational needs of such a huge population, there are a number of institutions of excellence. Amongst hundreds of institutions offering such courses, the top 10 have been discussed in this article.
1. College Of Art, New Delhi
The fee structure here is pretty less and stands at Rs 15,800 per year. This leaves the students with a greater amount of cash in hand to purchase good quality painting materials. This in turn fosters a way for students to try out greater number of innovations and come up with fresh artistic marvels every week.
Another special feature of the fine arts course in this institution is the fact that the course is designed from ground level. Thus, one does not need to have any prerequisite knowledge to be eligible for this course. A keen interest in this field of study is enough for a student to pursue a course here.
2. Faculty Of Visual Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
Another institute of excellence in the field of fine arts, this institution has a fee structure of Rs 1.53 lakh per year. This institution has been a major custodian of the Hindu art forms and its adaptability with the changing times has ensured that it remains one of the top institutions of fine arts studies for decades in a row.
3. Sir J J College Of Applied Art, Mumbai
The fee structure for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (which is a four-year course) stands at Rs 75,000 per year. A notable feature of this institution is the fact that it is centrally located in the city that is known as the heart of art and culture in this nation.
This institution is one of the first colleges of fine arts in the country and was established way back in 1879 in the colonial era India. Although the college was established with the initial aim of imparting European academic art to native Indians, over the years this institution has played a major role in harnessing the art and culture of the country.
4. Faculty Of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University Of Baroda, Vadodara
The fee structure here is Rs 20,000 per year. What sets this institution a notch above its counterparts is the fact that it ensures a gender ratio of 1:1. This is done with the aim of promoting equality and fostering the culture of art among its students.
5. Faculty Of Fine Arts, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
This institution offers both regular as well as part-time courses in the field of fine arts. The sheer amount of elective papers that are offered to the students is commendable. The college also has very good infrastructure. As compared to all the facilities that are on offer, the fee structure here is pretty less.
6. College Of Fine Arts, Trivandrum
One notable feature of this institution is the fact that 50% of the seats here are unreserved whereas the other 50% are allotted to the SC, ST and OBC candidates in proportions of 15%, 8% and 27% respectively. Established in 1881, the fee structure of this institution is a little on the higher side and stands at Rs 2.68 lakh per year.
7. Jawahar lal Nehru Architecture And Fine Arts University, Hyderabad
The fee structure for a course in fine arts in this institution is a mere Rs 10,000 per year. For those who cannot afford the same, there are a number of scholarships that are on offer. The college boasts of highly qualified and distinguished faculty many of whom have more than two decades of experience in the field of fine arts.
The experience of these type of faculty members is the biggest asset of the institution and since the student to teacher ratio here is highly commendable, the students get a lot of hands on experience of working with their faculty members.
8. Government College Of Fine Arts, Chennai
The fine arts courses in this institution offer very good placement opportunities to its students. Many people who have graduated out of this place presently work as faculty members in the other institutions mentioned in the list. The fee structure for the entire course stands at somewhere close to Rs 3 lakh in this institution.
9. Department Of Fine Arts, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi
This is a private institution that was established only in 2006. The fee structure here is a little on the higher side. However, it is interesting to note that it is one of the most technologically advanced schools of fine arts in India and the audiovisual aids that are used here cannot be found in any other fine arts college in the country.
10. College Of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore
This college offers the option of pursuing a Bachelor in Fine Arts as either a full-time course or a part-time one. The fee structure varies from 2 to 6 lakh for the entire course. Alumni of this institution have earned themselves jobs in advertising companies, art studios and boutiques across the country and beyond.
