Artists and writers based in India have reacted to the news that the Indian government is proposing a rating system for the country’s creatives, the Hindustan Times reports. The decision comes after the piloting of a cultural mapping project which is to be developed into a national repository. Under this scheme, artists would be graded in three categories: outstanding, promising and waiting. Given that artists’ work change over time, concerns have been raised over how the grading system will be updated. Doordarshan, one of India’s largest broadcasting networks, and the Indian Council for Cultural research already have grading systems, leading India’s artistic community to worry that another database will further complicate and confuse the status of artists. Some artists have responded positively to the proposal, saying that the recognition is a motivating factor, whilst others object to the idea of grading in the first place.
26 July 2016