The first-ever Monpa Artist Forum from Arunachal’s Tawang and West Kameng district kickstarted on Saturday at Conference Hall of National Research Centre, Dirang in West Kameng district.
The meeting was chaired by Lobsang Wangchu, ADC Lumla- a prominent novelist, song writer and singer from Monpa community.
While speaking on the occasion, Lobsang Wangchu said that the participants correctly chose to have the forum’s founding date coincide with the auspicious 89th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as His Holiness represents the importance of the rich culture and traditions of Himalayan region.
The members selected Tsangpa Norbu, a well-known Monpa singer and filmmaker, as the first president of the forum. While, a veteran artist Lungten Khochilu unanimously declared to hold the post of Secretary General.
As many as four regional coordinators, namely R N Bapu from Kalaktang, Tenzing Nguidang from Bomdila, Nima Dorjee from Dirang, and Dawa Tashi from Tawang, were also chosen during the meeting.
During the conference, several delegates from Tawang, Dirang, Kalaktang, and Bomdila came together and decided to establish the Monpa Artist Forum as a shared platform for the artists in the Monpa community.
Meanwhile, the conference pledged to support artists from the Monpa region by giving them a stage to showcase their talents, by organizing folk festivals and awards for music and cinema, and documenting and archiving folktales, dramas, and folksongs.
In addition, it was determined that the forum will support and preserve traditional painting, sculpture, and regional architecture in addition to the performing arts.
The review meeting was attended by Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura.
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