Scholarship
State Art Exhibition (Student Category)(SAESC)
Overview
About SAESC
The State Art Exhibition (Student Category) sits on myScheme as a scholarship, yet nobody fills in a scholarship application for it. A Goan art student carries framed paintings, prints, designs or sculptures to the Kala Academy art gallery in Panaji, a jury of three picks what hangs, and the best work in each section wins cash. In the 50th round, 2025-26, the gallery received 238 works across the three sections and hung 90 (Kala Academy result press note, 50th exhibition, Student Category).
The myScheme record names the Art, Culture and Museums Department as the provider. The body that writes the rules, receives the entries and announces the winners is Kala Academy Goa, an autonomous academy for music, drama, dance, literature and fine arts. The Directorate of Art and Culture's page on the academy lists "State Art Exhibition in Artists Category and Students Category" as one entry among the academy's programmes, next to its drama, bhajan and tiatr contests (Directorate of Art and Culture, Kala Academy page).
What gets judged is the artwork, not the family. The 2025-26 rules carry no income ceiling, no reserved category and no marks cut-off, and every work selected for display is automatically an entry for the prizes (Kala Academy, 50th State Art Exhibition 2025-26 Students Category rules).
Who runs it
Provider
Goa State Government
State / UT Government
Art, Culture and Museums Department
At a glance
Key details
| Level | State/ UT |
| Scheme type | Not published by the source |
| Category | Social welfare & Empowerment, Education & Learning |
| Beneficiaries | Individual |
| Benefit type | Cash |
| Application mode | Offline |
| Direct Benefit Transfer | No |
| Tags | Student, Art Exhibition, Graphic Design, Financial Support, Prize |
| Source record | myScheme, 2026-07-08official-site· 2026-07-08 |
Calendar
Important dates
Kala Academy fixes no standing date for the student round; each cycle's days come in its press note. The 2025-26 round ran on this timeline:
| Stage | When in 2025-26 | Where it was announced |
|---|---|---|
| Entries invited | A few days before the hand-in | Kala Academy press note to Goa newspapers |
| Works handed in | 4 and 5 March 2026, 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm | Rules booklet |
| Result declared | 6 March 2026 | Result press note |
| Exhibition inaugurated | 11 March 2026, 5.00 pm | Result press note |
| Open to the public | Until 15 March 2026, 10.00 am to 7.00 pm | Result press note |
| Works collected | 16 March 2026 | Entry form |
| Prize distribution | Date to be announced later | Result press note |
The 2024-25 round sat slightly later in March: works were handed in on 10 and 11 March 2025 and collected on 18 and 19 March 2025 (2024-25 rules; 2024-25 entry form).
The Artist Category runs first, which makes it a useful early signal. In 2024-25 the artists' exhibition ran from 8 to 12 February 2025, about a month before the student hand-in (2024-25 Artist Category rules; 2024-25 Student Category rules). In 2026 it opened on 23 February and was still on view when the student call went out (Kala Academy artist result press note, 50th exhibition; The Goan; press note inviting student entries).
Who can apply
Eligibility criteria
The rules invite "Goan Fine Art" students, and the Directorate's older scheme summary restricts entry to students of a recognised Fine Art college or institution from Goa (Directorate of Art and Culture, Kala Academy scheme summary). In practice one paper decides it: the bona fide certificate from the institution, without which the 2025-26 rules say the work will not be accepted (2025-26 Students Category rules).
No age limit, income limit or residence certificate appears anywhere in the student rules; current enrolment in an art course is the test.
The real decision is which category to enter, since a student can only be in one of the two each year. The Artist Category's 2024-25 rules admit artists who have been in Goa for a minimum of 3 years and Goans living elsewhere in India, so an art student who meets that condition can choose to compete against working artists instead (Kala Academy, 49th State Art Exhibition Artist Category rules, 2024-25).
| A participant must be a bona fide student of any recognised art college or institution, studying one or more of the subjects in the exhibition sections. | |
| If an art student submits their entry in the Student Category, they are not eligible to participate in the Artist Category. | |
| Submission must include an official bonafide certificate from the student's institution; entries without it will not be accepted. | |
| Declarations for Originality and Prior Exhibits | |
| Each exhibit must be the student’s original work, neither a copy nor an imitation. A declaration to this effect must appear on the back of each entry. | |
| If the work has previously won an award or been displayed in prior exhibitions by Kala Academy or any other institution, it will not be accepted, and a declaration to that effect must also be submitted. | |
| Award Winners' Restriction for Next Year | |
| A participant who receives an award in a given year is not eligible to receive an award in the same section in the following year |
Who cannot apply
Exclusions
myScheme publishes no exclusion list, but the 2025-26 rules keep some work out of the gallery (2025-26 Students Category rules):
- Sculpture in clay, glass or any other easily breakable material, or in anything not durable enough to be handled and transported.
- Paintings and prints that are not mounted or framed with ring hooks on the back, which the rules say will not be selected for display.
- Pieces beyond the prescribed maximum size: 4 ft vertical or horizontal for painting and graphic prints, 30 inches for applied art and graphic design.
- Entries brought in after the notified days, or incomplete ones, which Kala Academy's press note inviting student entries says will not be accepted (Kala Academy press note inviting student entries).
Continuation
Renewal conditions
Nothing renews, because nothing is granted for a period: each year's exhibition is a separate contest with its own prizes and its own fee. A student can enter again the next year while still enrolled. The only carry-over is the record's bar on a prize winner taking an award in the same section the following year, and the rules do not extend that bar to the other two sections.
What you get
Award & benefits
Each of the three sections carries three prizes, and the amounts did not change between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 rules:
| Prize | Amount | How many |
|---|---|---|
| First prize | Rs 10,000 | One in each of the three sections |
| Second prize | Rs 7,000 | One in each of the three sections |
| Third prize | Rs 5,000 | One in each of the three sections |
| Ravoji V. Gaunekar Memorial Prize, sponsored by the Goa Hindu Association, Mumbai | Rs 1,000 | One, Student Category |
| Hanumant B. Neugi Memorial Prize | Rs 1,000 | One |
The myScheme list also shows an Artist to Artist Award of Rs 15,000 from Smt. Prafulla Dahanukar. That award is printed in the Directorate's older scheme summary, but it is missing from the Student Category rules for 2024-25 and 2025-26 and from the published results for 2023-24 and 2025-26, so a student should not count on it (Directorate scheme summary; 2024-25 rules; 2025-26 rules; 2023-24 result sheet; 2025-26 result note).
A prize is not the only return. Every selected work hangs in a public exhibition, and a student may put a price on it, with any sale made through the Member Secretary of Kala Academy. The rules also let Kala Academy reproduce any selected work for publicity without paying the student (2025-26 rules).
The rules do not say how or when prize money reaches the winner. The 2026 result note said only that the date of the prize distribution would be announced later (2025-26 result note).
Past rounds show the wait is measured in months. The student winners of the 2023-24 exhibition received their prizes at a Kala Academy ceremony in July 2024, and the next round's winners at one in September 2025; both ceremonies were shared with the Artist Category and with the academy's Marathi and Konkani drama competitions (Kala Academy press note on the July 2024 prize distribution; Kala Academy press note on the September 2025 prize distribution; 2023-24 result sheet).
- Three main prizes will be awarded in each section/category: 1st Prize: ₹10,000/-
- Special Prizes: Ravji V. Gaunekar Memorial Prize by The Goa Hindu Association: ₹1,000/-
- Artist to Artist Award by Smt. Prafulla Dahanukar: ₹15,000/-
- Late Hanuman B. Neogi Memorial Prize: ₹1,000/-
What to prepare
Documents required
The paperwork is organised by section, not by student. The 2025-26 booklet has a separate entry form for each of the three sections, each with two numbered rows for works and its own short declaration that the works are original and unawarded, followed by a sheet of three label slips asking for the artist's name, category, section, title, price and email (2025-26 rules and forms).
The Rs 50 fee is charged per section and only in cash, since no cheque is accepted, and the receipt number goes into the form's own column (2025-26 rules). A student entering painting, applied art and sculpture therefore fills three forms and pays three fees.
Step by step
How to apply
There is no online form, no portal and no bank transfer to set up; the whole process is paper and in person at Kala Academy in Panaji. The 2025-26 round ran in this order:
- Kala Academy sent a press note to Goa's newspapers and Akashvani Panaji, and placed the rules and entry forms at its office and on its website (Kala Academy press note inviting student entries).
- The student collected the forms, one for each section to be entered.
- The Rs 50 fee was paid in cash for each section, and the receipt number written on the form (2025-26 rules).
- The student attached the bona fide certificate, signed the forms, wrote the declaration on the back of each work and framed the flat work with ring hooks.
- The works went to the Art Gallery, Kala Academy, Campal, on 4 or 5 March 2026, between 10.00 am and 1.00 pm or between 2.00 pm and 4.00 pm (2025-26 rules).
The notice period is short. In 2026 the press note inviting entries went out only days before the 4 and 5 March hand-in, which leaves almost no time to frame work from scratch, so a student who waits for the call before mounting and framing risks missing the round (press note; 2025-26 rules).
Checking the Result and Collecting the Work
There is no application number to track. The receipt that Kala Academy fills in on the lower half of each entry form is the student's proof of entry, and the student, or someone they authorise, must produce it to take the works back (2025-26 rules and forms).
Results arrive the way the call did, as a press note to the same newspapers and on the Kala Academy website. In 2026 that note came out the day after the hand-in closed and named the prize winners in each section along with the count of works selected for display (2025-26 result note).
Collection has a fixed date, and missing it has a cost. The 2025-26 forms set 16 March 2026 and the 2024-25 forms set 18 and 19 March 2025; works left unclaimed become Kala Academy's property under the rules (2025-26 rules and forms; 2024-25 entry form).
- 1Apply offline
The official links on this page lead to the application portal.
How winners are picked
Selection process
One judging round does two jobs. A panel of three judges appointed by Kala Academy decides which works hang, every hung work is then in the running for the prizes, and the judges may withhold a prize if no work reaches the standard; their decision is final and open to no objection (2025-26 rules).
Getting hung is the first cut, and in 2025-26 it was tighter for students than for artists. The student jury selected 90 of the 238 works received (2025-26 result note). The Artist Category that same season received 157 works and hung 96 of them (Kala Academy artist result press note, 50th exhibition; The Goan).
The judges did not use the power to withhold in the 2023-24 or 2025-26 student rounds. Both published results list a first, second and third prize in all three sections plus both memorial prizes (2023-24 result sheet; 2025-26 result note).
Fine print
Terms & conditions
Beyond the entry rules, the 2025-26 booklet binds every exhibitor to these conditions (2025-26 rules):
- Each work must show its price, or the words NOT FOR SALE.
- A displayed work cannot be taken down during the exhibition without written permission from the Member Secretary.
- Kala Academy takes care of the works but is not liable for accidental damage or loss; everything is shown at the student's risk.
- Kala Academy may change or modify any rule.
- On any doubt about the rules, the Chairman of Kala Academy decides; disputes are first to be settled by representatives of both sides, and any court matter lies only with the courts at Panaji.
Get help
Contact
Entry forms are addressed to one officer, the Member Secretary, Kala Academy Goa, Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Campal, Panaji, Goa 403001. Kala Academy's website lists the telephone numbers 0832-2420450/51/52/53 and the email kalaacademygoa@yahoo.co.in, with the administrative office open Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 5:45 pm (Kala Academy Goa website).
Older papers, including the 2024-25 Artist Category rules, give Adilshah Palace, the Old Secretariat, as the office address. A Kala Academy press note of April 2025 says its administrative and other departments, moved there during renovation, are back in the Kala Academy building (Kala Academy press note on the move back; 2024-25 Artist Category rules).
Source
Official links
Questions
SAESC – FAQ
Frequently asked questions
From the official scheme FAQ (myScheme)
Read this
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
Scheme details are compiled from myScheme, the Government of India’s official scheme-discovery platform, and are reproduced without alteration. Amounts, deadlines and eligibility change between cycles, so always confirm on the official links above before applying. Expertie does not process applications or charge fees.
References
Sources
- Kala Academy result press note, 50th exhibition, Student Category – web.archive.org
- Directorate of Art and Culture, Kala Academy page – artandculture.goa.gov.in
- The Goan – thegoan.net
- O Heraldo – heraldgoa.in
- Booklet – kalaacademygoa.co.in
- myScheme (Government of India) – myscheme.gov.in