Several artists and associates gathered at the premises of Nepal Academy of Fine Arts in Naxal on Wednesday to discuss the recent announcement made by the government to merge the three Academies—Nepal Academy, Nepal Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and Nepal Academy of Music and Drama (NAMUDA).

The event saw the presence of the members of the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, senior artists, and representatives from other organisations dealing with art.

Most of the attendees argued that the NAFA should not be merged with any other Academy and that the government’s announcement was “regressive.”

Among the speakers, senior artist Thakur Prasad Mainali, Govinda Narayan Jyapu, Shankar Raj Singh Suwal, and Ramesh Khanal were of the opinion that “the existence of NAFA as a separate entity should be preserved by any means.”  Almost all of the attendees agreed that the decision was paradoxical. “The Academy was established to honour the contribution made by artists during the Mass Movement II, and the government’s announcement is irrational,” attendees claimed.