Study Report on Thangka Paintings of Sikkim

There are two major government initiatives that train thangka artists in Sikkim: the Ecclesiastical Affairs Department and the Directorate of Handicrafts & Handloom. This study revealed that 65 per cent of trainees who trained from a government facility continued to practice the trade, whereas in private institutes, only 5 per cent of the trainees continued to make thangkas after finishing training.

Traditionally, thangka production is a complex, elaborate process. The preparation of the canvas takes about 14 days, and the artists have to make the colours from natural sources. However, currently, many thangka artists have opted for quicker and cheaper alternatives like acrylic colours and white distemper for the canvas. This is because Sikkimese artists face harsh competition as cheaper, printed alternatives like Chinese scroll paintings have entered the markets. 

According to seasoned practitioners of thangka art, an artist takes about 10 years to learn the art form completely. In Sikkim, government training centres provide training up to 4 years, and private ones for 4-6 years. Those who train for longer than 3-4 years end up joining the master as assistants on a subsistence-level wage and continue for another 5-6 years.  

The study reveals that the training in thangka art does not include any teaching related to business, finance, or costing. As the market gets more competitive, it is recommended that the artists be taught about the skills of doing business alongside artistic training.

Out of all the thangka artisans who were part of this study, only 7.9 per cent were regularly engaged in producing thangka paintings, 68.4 per cent were making them on demand, and 23.7 per cent were not making them at all. The study adds that 77 per cent of the respondents had not sold a single thangka in the last year. 

The study shows that artists were welcoming towards the use of mechanized techniques in thangka production, particularly for canvas-making and sketching. While traditional scripture controls elements of the thangka like the depiction of Buddha or the Bodhisattva, an openness was observed in experimentation with size, position, orientation, and design according to the artists or demand. 

The study identified that there were insufficient facilities for making thangka within Sikkim. There were only two private facilities that undertook thangka production, and both of them reported poor infrastructure. Moreover, training centres for thangka artists were absent in 3 out of the 4 districts of Sikkim. 

Focus and Factoids by Gauri Yadav.