Consistent hard work and passionate efforts of West Bengal’s creative minds associated directly or indirectly with the state’s AVGC industry led to the formation of Bengal AVGC-XR Association. Launched on 16 October, the collective body aims to be an umbrella of support to the aspiring artists and companies that create cartoons, special effects for movies, comics and exciting video games.
The collective body formally launched the association during an art festival oraganised by students – kalaAkar. The festival was organised by Supreme Knowledge Foundation affiliated to the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, located in Mankundu Road, Chandannagar. The venue at the campus was decked up in beautiful artwork done by students of Multimedia Animation and Graphics department reflecting the dazzling talent of this state, ready to join the workforce. The collaboration itself is a step towards building a bridge between the aspirants and the industry.
The encouragement of eminent patrons like Ashish Kulkarni, Rajiv Chilaka and Pradip Chopra gave wings to the thought of forming this non-profit organisation committed to facilitate the development of the AVGC sector. The Bengal AVGC-XR Association has unanimously elected 10 office bearers.
Hi-Tech Animation founder Subrata Roy became the president, Wackytoon Studio CEO Niloy Kanti Biswas is the vice-president and Cloud House Animation Studios CFO Sayan Ghosh is on board as the secretary. There are six joint secretaries including Anirudhha Dasgupta, Anurag Chirimar, Ashis Roy, Subhra Chakraborty, Samrat Mukherjee and Druhin Mukherjee. Ramesh Kr Ruia is a part of the group as the treasurer, while Binita Das is the editorial head.
“The AVGC industry in West Bengal is a creative explosion. It shows how art and technology can work together to make amazing things,” the association’s president Roy said. “With great quality, originality, and the cost effectiveness, West Bengal’s AVGC industry will keep growing and making people happy with their creative work.”
There are other members who are part of various committees looking at events, digital media, magazines and so on. The association formation involved active commitment of members like Anindya Dasgupta, Sourav Mondal, Rajat Dolui, Ankit Choudhury, Suprabhat Mukherjee, Abhishek Ghorui, Charbak, Harsho Chattoraj, Sourav Dutta, Ankita Roy, Sumit Chanda and Sourav Ghosh along with others. The body welcomes new members everyday.
The day-long event witnessed two panel discussions on “Building the bridge between industry and academics” and “Individual growth and opportunity in design and animation industry in India.” The main attraction for the day was a session on “Creating your own IP using Indian art” by Vaanarsena Studios and School senapati and Assemblage Entertainment creative director Vivek Ram.
Most of the speakers stressed on the importance of passion and perseverance to excel in the AVGC industry. Ram shared his journey and talked about his exclusive artworks, giving students valuable tips during the presentation. He was amazed while interacting with the young crowd who had worked very hard to put up the entire event.
The Bengal AVGC-XR Association launch provided an opportunity to the students to meet some top creative minds of the industry.
The association believes that the state of West Bengal has a huge talent pool working across the globe in the AVGC sector, has presence of some big studios, of good training institutions and lower production cost in comparison to other metro cities. The association hopes to channelise these advantages, and with this hope to create a thriving AVGC ecosystem in the state.
