Cholamandal, started in 1965, is an Artists’ Village situated on an eight-acre plot of land 8 km south of Adyar on Muttukadu Road by the sea. Thirty painters and sculptors of talent have acquired land for themselves in order to be able to work in comparative peace. Cholamandal stands for the rehabilitation of the creative artist as an equal participant in society, self-employed and independent. Here the artist paints or sculpts through the major part of the day and applies himself to a congenial art-craft during leisure hours to supplement, if necessary, his income from the sale of paintings and sculptures. Cholamandal is perhaps the first of its kind anywhere in the world. It is administered by an annually elected council of members. In the last few years, cholamandal has been adding facilities to its campus.

On February 1, 2009, the Cholamandal Centre for Contemporary Art was inaugurated. It consists of the K.C.S. Paniker Museum of the Madras Movement, two commercial airconditioned galleries, Labernum and Indigo, and an open-air international sculpture park surrounding the complex.

It has two guest houses of 400 sq.ft. each available on rent and a garden restaurant amidst which is located “Shiraz”, a 30-seater airconditioned café with Persian and Mediterranean cuisine.

The latest addition at Cholamandal Artists’ Village is the Cholamandal Cultural Centre (in picture) inaugurated on January 7, 2015. It is a state-of-the-art international Artists’ Residency and a space for cultural exchange programmes.