Shillong, Jan 3: Eminent painter, sculptor and cultural activist, Raphael Warjri, has been selected for the prestigious Pranab Baruah Artist Award for 2025.
He was selected for the award for his “unwavering commitment to the arts and his role in fostering cultural consciousness across communities”, stated a release issued by Sulakshana Baruah Bhuyan, Principal of Pranab Baruah Kalakshetra.
Instituted in 2002 in memory of visionary artist Pranab Baruah, the award is presented on his birthday, 22 February, every year to life-long achievers in the field of art and sculpture in the North East.
Warjri has devoted over four decades to artistic practice. In 1991, he founded the Riti Academy of Visual Arts, later establishing the M A D Gallery to showcase contemporary works.
He has participated in art camps in Dhaka (2005 & 2007) in collaboration with the Indian High Commission and the Greater Sylhet Indigenous Peoples Forum, and his creations have been exhibited at national and international film and theatre festivals.
A lifelong member of INTACH and the Khasi Authors Society, Warjri is also a founding member of the North East Film and TV Producers and Directors Association and the Meghalaya People Environmental Rights Forum.
He remains active in the Meghalaya Adventure Association, Meghalaya Editors and Publishers Association, and the Shillong Press Club, and has authored several books in Khasi and English.
His previous honours include the ISB & M Award (Kolkata), Green Warrior Award, Rotary Club Shillong Excellence Award, and the State Tirot Singh Memorial Arts and Literature Award from the Government of Meghalaya.
