The first “International Kala Mela” was conducted in New Delhi and was inaugurated was the Vice-President of India “M. Venkaiah Naidu” on February 4, 2018.The International Kala Mela was organized by the ‘Lalit Kala Academy’ in collaboration with IGNCA (Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts) of the Ministry of Culture.
With a total 325 exhibition stalls, about 800 artists took part in the festival from across the world. The festival was concluded on February 17, 2018, at the IGNCA, New Delhi. It was the first time that the Academy has planned the International Kala Mela at such a large scale. Many Embassies and Cultural Centres were the participants of the Kala Mela and made the festival an International Success. The main objective of the Kala Mela was to focus on the direct interaction between the artist and the connoisseur and also educating and raising awareness about art.