Shillong: Renowned painter, sculptor and cultural activist Raphael Warjri of Meghalaya has been conferred with the Pranab Baruah Artist Award for 2025 in recognition of his decades-long contribution to the visual arts and cultural life of the region.
The award, instituted in memory of late artist Pranab Baruah, is presented annually on February 22, Baruah’s birth anniversary, to honour a North East Indian artist for lifetime achievement in painting and sculpture.
This year’s selection was announced by Sulakshana Baruah Bhuyan, principal of Pranab Baruah Kalakshetra, who praised Warjri for his sustained commitment to the arts and his efforts to strengthen cultural awareness across communities.
The Pranab Baruah Artist Award carries a citation, a memento and a cash prize of Rs. 25,000. Since its inception in 2002, the honour has been conferred on several prominent artists from across the Northeast, reflecting the diversity and richness of the region’s artistic traditions.
Warjri has spent more than four decades working as an artist, educator and cultural organiser.
His artistic journey has included participation in international art camps in Dhaka in 2005 and 2007, organised in collaboration with the Indian High Commission and the Greater Sylhet Indigenous Peoples Forum. Warjri’s works have also been displayed at various national and international film and theatre festivals.
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He is a life member of INTACH and the Khasi Authors Society, a founding member of the North East Film and TV Producers and Directors Association, and is involved with organisations such as the Meghalaya People Environmental Rights Forum, Meghalaya Adventure Association, Meghalaya Editors and Publishers Association, and the Shillong Press Club. He has also authored a number of books in both Khasi and English.
