Manipur, March 2 -- It was a windy February evening in Imphal as Laishom Rituchandra, an artist displaced by the conflict in Manipur, nervously waited at the State Art Gallery, Palace Compound, Imphal for the 10th Maharajkumar Priyabrata Singh Memorial Art Exhibition, 2024 to begin.

The much-hyped exhibition is one of the go-to art events for artists, art enthusiasts and art lovers in general. Annual art exhibitions are a rare event in Manipur with very few exhibition galleries and even fewer exhibition events. Contemporary artists in Manipur do not have a mass following while appreciation for artwork is yet to establish a proper foothold.

The open group exhibition is a four-day annual event organised in memory of (late) MK Priyabrata S...