World Art Day 2020: Occasion marks Leonardo Da Vinci's birth anniversary, aims to create awareness about diversity of artistic expression

World Art Day, an international event of fine arts, is celebrated on 15 April. The day was adopted by the International Association of Art, a partner of UNESCO, to create awareness of creative activity worldwide. History and Significance of World Art Day  [caption id=“attachment_8263831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational Image. Image credits: UNESCO website[/caption] The first World Art Day was celebrated on this day in 2012 and the date – 15 April –  was chosen in honour of Leonardo da Vinci’s birth anniversary. World Art Day was officially held for the first time in the City of Los Angeles in 2015. In the year 2017, IAA USA , the official US-based chapter of the IAA, was formed. According to UNESCO , World Art Day celebrations help strengthen the links between artistic creations and society, encourage awareness of the diversity of artistic expressions and highlight the contribution of artists to sustainable development. The day also focuses on arts education in schools. World Art Day celebrations Workshops, cultural events, debates, conferences and exhibitions are held across the world to celebrate World Art Day. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the celebrations this year would, however, would be subdued. The IAA said people can celebrate art from their homes by connecting with other artists on social media and create unique ways of exhibiting and promoting the arts. On the occasion of World Art Day, the official Twitter account of the Nobel Prize organisation posted a short message highlighting the artistic genius of Rabindranath Tagore.

UNESCO too shared a message on Twitter speaking about how the coronavirus pandemic has created a cultural emergency. The organisation highlighted the crisis faced by artists around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic, urging people to join them in giving the artists a voice.